Team Gai, the All Girl Team!
by Gemina
Summary: What if the whole team, excluding Gai, sorry, were girls? How would this affect their team? Tenten is a tomboy, Lee is an energetic girl, and Neji is a dangerous girl. Will consider all straight pairings! Sorry, I can't write slash!
1. The Meeting, or, Chapter 1

**Okay, I've got another 'what if' thing going on here. My idea, but I don't own it!**

**Here goes:**

**What if Team Gai was all girls, except Gai?**

**And Hinata was a guy.**

**And Hanabi too.**

**I've bounced the idea around for a while, so I have a bunch of ideas. Starts out something like this:**

Three girls.

Those were the only students to graduate. Out of the whole year.

Which was why, for the first time ever, there would be an all girl team. And, as some of the jounin nicely put it, they would be Gai's problem.

Gai had gathered his new students up on one of the verandas, and currently they were all sitting on a bench. Lee was eager, and almost jumping out of her skin with excitement. She fiddled with her braid impatiently. Out of the three, she had the highest score in taijutsu, but the lowest when it came to ninjutsu and genjutsu.

Tenten was also eager, but not in the same way as Lee. Her hair was pulled neatly into two buns on her head. She was rearing to start her training, and learn new techniques. She had the highest scores in summoning and weapons, her grades were mediocre elsewhere. Her aim was near perfect. She wanted it to be perfect.

Neji was disinterestedly twirling some of her long hair on her finger. She was highest on the written tests, and she was a genius at her own technique, gentle fist. Her taijutsu was good, and her ninjutsu was good. She was, however, not good at genjutsu, and she sincerely didn't care to be.

Gai grinned at his students cheerily.

" Congratulations! You have all passed the exams, and now you are ready to be genin! Since you are all going to be on the same team for a long time, let's get to know each other! Lee, you can start, tell us your name, your likes, you dislikes, and your dreams!"

Lee grinned.

" I'm Lee, and I like taijutsu and mint chocolate chip icecream! I dislike bullies and negative people! And my dream is to become a great kunoichi, even if I can't mold chakra!"

Neji made a somewhat amused sound. Lee turned towards her.

" What's so funny?!"

Neji shrugged. She obviously didn't think much of Lee and her dreams.

" I always find outlandish hopes funny. You can't become great. You're weak."

Lee frowned and pointed at Neji. Neji sat there coolly, as if this happened often.

" I will become great, you'll see! You can't just decide that someone will always be weak, Neji! Besides, I graduated when thirteen other kids didn't, doesn't that prove something?"

Neji snorted. She rolled her eyes.

" That just means thirteen other kids are weaker than you."

Tenten suddenly slid between the two.

" Stop fighting! What is wrong with you two?! We are a team, picking each other apart is not going to do us any good, Neji. I want to be a great kunoichi too. If you don't share our goal, you can pack it up and leave!"

Neji raised her eyebrows.

" What happened to the 'we're a team' talk?"

Tenten frowned. She hated when people twisted her words.

" You know what I mean!"

Gai interrupted. Better not to let them fight too much. It was inevitable that such different people would clash.

" Tenten, you may take your turn now."

Tenten sighed. Then she smiled at Gai and began.

" My name is Tenten, and I like weapons and winning matches! I dislike losing and written exams. My dream is to become the greatest kunoichi ever!"

Neji still rolled her eyes, but Tenten and Lee weren't paying attention. Gai looked pointedly at Neji. Neji shrugged.

" My name is Hyuuga Neji, I like being alone and training alone. I dislike morons who get in my way. I have no dreams."

Neji looked over at Lee and Tenten, who had pitying looks on their faces.

" What?"

Tenten shifted into a crosslegged position. Lee copied.

" Don't you think it's kind of depressing not to have dreams?"

Neji rolled her eyes again.

" It's also depressing to have your dreams dashed. "

Tenten looked at her as if she were crazy.

" So you choose not have dreams so they won't be dashed? That's like not breathing for fear of suffocating on something!"

Neji frowned. She hated when people tried to say she was wrong.

" I'm not afraid of anything."

Lee crossed her arms. If someone makes an outlandish claim, they'd better back it up.

" Prove it!"

Gai chose this moment to step in. He struck the nice guy pose.

" You all must understand, people don't expect this team to succeed. There's never been a team of all girls. They expect you to remain genin for the rest of your lives, however short they may be. But we are going to prove them wrong! Starting tommorrow, we are going to learn to function as a team! I'm going to go get dinner, you three wait here and get to know each other while I'm gone. "

He turned to leave, then glanced back.

" And Neji?"

" Yes?"

" Be nice."

Gai left Neji scowling at him. Tenten and Lee laughed, and Neji promptly redirected her scowl to them. Tenten shook her head.

" Okay, okay, we kind of started out on the wrong foot, let's try this again. I'm Tenten, I'm good with weapons and summoning."

She looked over to Lee. Lee grinned.

" I'm Lee, I'm good at taijutsu."

Lee looked over at Neji. Neji shrugged in defeat.

" I'm Neji, I'm good at gentle fist and ninjutsu."

Tenten smiled.

" Okay, this is good. We are all good at different things."

They sat in uncomfortable silence for another few minutes, wondering when Gai would be back. It was Lee who finally spoke.

" What's your favorite food?"

Neji raised an eyebrow.

" That's kind of random."

Lee shrugged.

" You can ask a question after me."

Tenten grinned.

" Yeah, that's a good idea. Like twenty questions."

Neji leaned back against her seat noncommitally.

" Anything chocolate."

That came as a surprise to Tenten. She would have expected her to like something more like vinegar. Or anything bitter.

" I love egg drop soup."

Neji raised an eyebrow. That was a Chinese dish. Now that she thought about it, Tenten did look somewhat Chinese. Neji cleared her throat.

" My turn, what's your family like?"

Lee shrugged.

" I'm an orphan, I live with my grandmother. She can get kind of grumpy, but other than that, she's great."

Tenten noticed Neji's expression soften somewhat.

" I have a huge family." She held her hands apart, as if to show just how big it was. " Seventeen of us in all, plus my parents, aunts, uncles, and cousins."

Lee's eyes widened.

" Wow! You are so lucky! I wish I had sixteen brothers and sisters!"

Tenten smiled. Most people said something along the lines of " Ew, gross." or " Wow, you have way too many siblings!"

" Okay, my turn, what's your favorite color?"

Lee answered before Neji could even think about what her favorite color was.

"Green!"

Neji looked Lee up and down. Her green shirt, green hair tie, and green socks did kind of give it away. She was going to get along really well with their instructor.

" Baby blue."

It was Tenten's turn to raise her eyebrows. She was expecting something more along the lines of white, or tan, or even brown. Neji didn't seem like a person to like any color whatsoever. Her tan hoodie and black capris screamed it. Then she noticed Neji was looking at her, as if daring her to laugh. She nervously cleared her throat.

" Lee, it's your turn now."

Lee nodded and thought for a second, fiddling with her braid thoughtfully. Then she stopped and looked at her braid as if it was the answer to everything.

" Why do you wear your hair long?"

Tenten shrugged.

" My mom always had me do it, and I guess I never really thought about cutting it."

Tenten looked over at Neji, who was, at the moment, twirling her hair around her finger again. Neji shrugged too.

" Hyuuga tradition. I'm not allowed to cut it."

Tenten and Lee tried to think of something other to say, to change the subject or something, but were thankfully interrupted by Gai sensei, arriving back with dinner. They quickly dug in, because they were starving by now. Neji was the only one who bothered with table manners.

**Do not fear! Hinata and Hanabi will make quite a few appearances. Please review, they make me feel all cozy inside.**


	2. Soft Hands, or, Chapter 2

**I actually finished this!! Wow!**

**That was fun to write actually...**

**I own none of the characters...they're Kishimoto's.**

Their first day of training, Neji and Tenten were the only ones on time. They waited about ten minutes for the other two to show up. Lee finally came bounding up the road, shoving what looked a danish in her mouth as she ran. She smiled at them.

" Sorry, my Grandma made me stay and eat breakfast with her. Isn't it a beautiful morning?!"

Neji rolled her eyes. It was an ugly, grey day. To be honest, she liked the quiet it normally brought with it, but it certainly was not beautiful. She looked over at Tenten. She also looked a little bewildered.

Before either could say anything, Gai came bounding up the street.

" Isn't it just a youthful day?!" He yelled.

Lee grinned, and Tenten tried to. Neji made no such attempt. Gai threw his arms around the three girls. Neji and Tenten both attempted to squirm away, but they met little success. Neji thought briefly about jyuukening him, but the man let go to gesture at the training grounds before them, so there was no need.

"Today, we will learn about teamwork, and we will form close bonds of friendship!!!"

Tenten looked over at the stoic girl beside her. A close bond of friendship with her? Unlikely. She looked over at the overly happy Lee, who was clapping her hands at the idea, looking with awe at their sensei. Maybe she could be friends with her. She smiled at Lee.

Gai interrupted her thoughts.

"First, we must learn each other's strengths and weaknesses. We will do this by each of you taking a turn sparring with me. Lee, since you are most youthful, you will go first!"

Lee nodded seriously.

"Yes, sensei!"

She settled into her taijutsu stance, waiting for him to move first. He did make his move first, and Tenten watched with excitement while the two battled. After a little while, she realized that Gai was taking it really easy on her. Looking over at Neji, she could guess from her disdainful expression that she'd already noticed. Eventually, Gai caught Lee in a simple hold. He let go with a grin and a thumbs up.

"Good job, Lee!! Neji!! You're next!"

Neji crossed her arms and gave him the patented Hyuuga glare.

"No."

Gai looked surprised for a second. Then he smiled again.

"Neji, this is a required exercise. Why not?"

Neji rolled her eyes and looked impatient. Tenten couldn't believe how rude Neji was being to their sensei. And to think everyone said Hyuugas were polite. Neji locked eyes with Gai again.

"We already know the outcome. I'll lose. I see no point."

Tenten clenched her fist.

"You just don't want to work up a sweat!" She accused, jabbing her finger at Neji.

Neji looked disdainfully at her finger before pushing it away.

"No. I plan to train on my own anyway. You two will only slow me down."

Lee and Tenten both looked offended.

"Excuse you!!" Said Lee, putting her hands on her hips.

"Yeah, what on earth?! If anything, you and the stick up your butt will slow us down!!" Tenten said angrily.

Neji's expression turned dangerous.

"I assure you, there is currently no one in this group with a stick up her butt, but arrangements can be made!" She threatened, glaring at Tenten.

Gai sighed and put a hand to his forehead. Maybe the other jounin had been right when they said an all girl team would be too much of a handful, even for him. He looked back at the team of angry girls, and wondered if it would be wise to step in, or just let them sort out their differences. Just then, Tenten turned to him, still full of anger, though it wasn't directed at him.

"I'll go next if Neji's too chicken!" She declared.

Gai smiled at her. He sensed she might become the leader of this group, when they were older.

Tenten settled into her stance, hand already in her shuriken holster. Neji huffed from the sidelines, obviously angry at being called a chicken. As Neji would have predicted, Tenten lost her fight, but she surprised Gai with her dead-on aim. She managed to leave a scratch along his cheek, which she apologized profusely for .

Lee grinned and tossed her a towel to wipe the sweat off her forehead.

"That was awesome!!" She crowed, getting up and crushing Tenten with a hug. "You actually scratched his cheek!"

Tenten flushed at the praise. She looked over at Neji, whose face was unreadable. She seemed to be like that often. Gai turned and looked at Neji purposefully. Neji sighed.

"Fine..." She muttered. She grabbed bandages out of her pockets and wrapped her hands. Tenten quirked an eyebrow.

She settled into her gentle fist stance, then activated her byakugan, which scared Tenten half to death. She had not been expecting the veins on her teammate's face to swell up like that. It looked kind of gross. She looked over at Lee, who seemed unsurprised. She'd probably seen this before. As Neji had said, she lost, but not before disabling Gai's arm. Neji rolled her eyes as she unrolled the bandages around her hands.

"I told you I'd lose." She announced.

Gai shook his head.

"You only lose if you didn't learn anything from this, Neji." He said, putting a hand on her shoulder, which she shrugged off.

Gai turned to his other students.

"Lee, taijutsu needs a lot of work, if that's all you'll be relying on in fights. Are you ready to work hard?" He said, looking seriously at his bushy-eyebrowed pupil.

Lee grinned, giving him a thumbs up.

"I will work very hard, Gai sensei!!"

Gai smiled widely at her before turning to Tenten.

"You have good aim, and an affinity for weapons. Have you been taught any wepaons, other than kunai and shuriken?"

Tenten shook her head, as her brain buzzed with excitement at the prospect of learning new weapons. Gai nodded.

"That is what you will learn then. You will also learn to summon them."

Tenten grinned excitedly.

"Yes, Gai sensei!"

Gai turned last to Neji. Neji looked at him expectantly, like a hardened criminal waiting for their sentence.

"You need to learn to work with others, Hyuuga Neji. And," He examined her soft hands. "You must toughen up your knuckles."

Neji jerked her hand away with a scowl. She really didn't like this sensei...

**Neji has a hard time getting along with anyone, ne?**

**Please review, and give any ideas you have for pairings! I'm still figuring it out, so any suggestions will be huggled to death!**


	3. The Alternate Chapter 2,or, Hyuuga! Run!

**Okay, so I was sifting through documents, and wouldn't you know it, I discovered I'd already written at least half of the next chapter a month ago. You're probably wondering how on earth I wrote something and then forgot it.**

**The answer is simple: I'm an idiot.**

**But I figured at least someone should benefit from my idiocy, so here's what most DVD special features lists call an "Alternate scene". Though this has some elements the real chapter two has, it is much shorter, and has a few other ideas (which made me laugh) in it.**

**Enjoy!**

Tenten groaned as she stumbled to the training fields. She was used to getting up early, but four in the morning was ridiculous! She looked up to see Neji, standing there looking perfect, her arms crossed and her foot tapping with impatience. When she saw Tenten she rolled her eyes.

"Finally. You do realize you're six minutes late."

Tenten suppressed the urge to growl at Neji and settled for a mumbled "Whatever."

Neji shook her head at Tenten. Tenten glared back. She was about to say something that in her sleep deprived mind was really clever and acidic, but Gai and Lee chose that moment to show up. They both grinned widely at her.

"Tenten, youthful flower, you look tired!" Gai boomed.

Tenten winced. He was very loud. Didn't he realize other, normal, human beings were sleeping at this hour? Neji looked boredly at Gai.

"What are we doing for training today?"

Gai turned and grinned at Neji. He slid closer to her, as if to tell her a secret.

"My youthful Neji, today we are going to run laps and work on chakra control!"

Neji shook her head. She looked impatiently at Gai.

"I already have good chakra control. May I work on something else?"

Gai grinned at Neji again.

"NO!"

Both Tenten and Neji jumped at how loud Gai had become.

"You see, my youthful but inattentive student, we are a team now, and we'll be learning things together. If you are already good at something, you'll help your teammates learn it."

Neji looked somewhat perturbed. She gestured to Lee and Tenten with a sweep of her arm.

"These two will only slow me down!"

Tenten glared at Neji.

"Excuse you! I believe I am much better than you at weaponry!"

Neji smiled back.

"You may 'believe' all you like, anyone can throw a kunai, Tenten."

Tenten gritted her teeth in annoyance. She learned to use so much more than just kunai and shuriken! She reached to jab Neji in the chest angrily, but she felt lightning quick taps on her arm and suddenly she couldn't move it.

"Hey!"

Neji smirked.

"It is hard to throw a kunai when you can't move your arm, isn't it?"

Tenten glared and readied herself for battle with one arm, Gai stepped between them. Gai gave Tenten a disappointed look.

"Tenten, there will be many people in this world who think little of you and much of themselves, but you must never lose your temper to them."

He turned to Neji.

"And you! Stop belittling your teammates! Your life will rest in their hands one day, so you'd better learn to trust them."

Lee put her hands on her hips and shook her head at Neji. Neji rolled her eyes at her.

Gai tapped Neji and looked pointedly at Tenten. Neji sighed.

"Fine."

With a few simple taps, she reopened the chakra points on Tenten's arm. Tenten looked at her curiously while she rubbed her arm.

"How'd you do that?"

Before Neji could reply, Gai stepped in and grinned.

"What Neji just did was the gentle fist technique. She uses chakra to seal off your chakra points."

Lee looked up at him with eyes full of wonder.

"She can do that? Just by tapping? Can anyone learn to do that?"

Neji snorted. Tenten attempted to elbow her, but Neji easily moved out of the way. Lee looked over at her questioningly.

"Not just anyone can do gentle fist, Lee, you'd have to be a Hyuuga."

Lee shook her head sadly.

"And it's just not worth it to be a Hyuuga."

Tenten laughed, thoroughly surprised that Lee had made such a good dig at Neji. She watched in amusement as Neji's mouth hung open for a second, then snapped shut into an angry, hard line.

Gai sighed and rubbed his temples. Maybe the other Jounin had been right when they said even he couldn't handle this team.

**So much fun...hope you enjoyed that, chapter three should be up some time on Febuary!**


	4. Onions are for training, or, Chapter 3

**Hello everyone, I've actually decided to update. That's right. Anyway, I own nothing but the idea behind this fic, everything else belongs to Kishimoto! Note: I have changed Hinata's name to Hanshiro. Don't ask me what it means, because I have no idea! I think Shiro might mean the color white though...**

Once again, they were meeting early in the morning. Tenten shivered in the cold morning air. She wished she'd remembered a jacket, like Neji and Lee. She'd been in such a hurry scrambling out of the house to be on time that she'd forgotten.

The past few training sessions had gone pretty well, though there'd been some resistance from Neji. They'd covered all the bases, they'd probably be able to start D-ranks soon.

At least that's what Tenten had thought, until Gai came up the hill, pushing a wheel barrow full of onions. She looked over at Neji and Lee, and could easily tell they had no clue what was going on either. She could tell, that while Neji looked suspicious of their grinning sensei, Lee seemed excited for whatever crazy training session Gai had in mind.

"Good morning my youthful students!! Today we will be training to control ourselves completely!"

Neji looked warily at the onions.

"You're going to make us peel those, aren't you?"

Gai grinned at her and gave her a thumbs up, letting go of one side of the barrow and causing some of the onions to tumble out.

"You have guessed correctly, Neji!"

Neji wrinkled her nose. She did not want to peel onions.

"Do we have to?"

Tenten rolled her eyes.

"Don't be a priss, Neji. Let's get to work."

Tenten reached for some onions. Gai shook his head.

"You will each have your own pile, to be completed within the time limit. If it's not completed in that amount of time, all of you will have to run 100 laps around Konoha!"

Lee grinned at the very idea.

"Let's get working! We won't let you down, sensei!!"

Gai beamed at his most youthful student, then seperated the onions into three piles. Three uneven piles. Tenten looked down at her pile, the smallest by far.

"Um, sensei, the piles are uneven..."

Gai nodded.

"Yes they are!"

He turned and sat down. Neji stared in horror at her own huge pile. Hers was easily the largest. Gai cleared his throat.

"You see, my youthful Tenten, in real missions, you will hardly ever get equal amounts of work, but it is still important for you finish your part, no matter how small." He explained.

Lee grinned. She should have brought a notebook, so she could write down this pearl of wisdom. Gai sensei was always saying wise things.

Neji rolled her eyes.

"Fine, let's do this."

Gai grinned.

"Ready, set, GO!!!!"

Tenten quickly started working through her onions, her eyes stinging. Luckily, she worked with onions a lot when she cooked, so it wasn't too bad.

Lee tore through her pile, tears streaming down her face. Tenten realized that at the pace Lee was working, Lee would probably finish before her. She immediately started working faster. Lee noticed and started working faster too. Tenten, not to be outdone, quickened her pace even more. She just barely finished before Lee. Lee grinned at Tenten.

"Great job Tenten! You have beaten me!"

Tenten grinned back, then turned to see how far along Neji was. Her jaw dropped. Shouldn't she be moving faster?

Neji's eyes were streaming with tears, and she was clumsily peeling the onion in her hand. Tenten groaned. Neji had probably never peeled an onion in her life.

"Come on Neji, peel faster!"

Neji glared, then rubbed at her streaming eyes. She seemed to make an effort to move faster, mangling the onion in her hand in the process.

Tenten slapped a hand to her forehead.

"Come on! I don't want to run a hundred laps around Konoha!"

Neji threw the mangled onion down in frustration.

"And you think I do?! I am trying my best!" She rubbed at her eyes again. She picked up another and began to try to peel it again.

Tenten began stretching. There was no way Neji was going to finish in time. She might as well be ready for the run. Lee looked at Neji peeling for a minute, then sat down beside her. Picking up an onion, she began to peel it. Neji didn't seem to notice, as she mangled her current onion. Tenten looked over at Gai, who didn't make any move to stop Lee. She shrugged to herself. Peeling more onions definitely beat running one hundred laps. She sat down next to Lee and began peeling too.

Tenten and Lee made quick work of the onions while Neji mangled three or four. Neji reached forward and groped at where her pile used to be, to Tenten's surprise. Lee didn't seem surprised. Was she ever?

Lee handed Neji a towel to wipe her eyes on. Neji quickly rubbed at her eyes. Tenten raised an eyebrow.

"The onions weren't that bad, Neji."

Gai suddenly stood up from his position on the ground.

"Maybe not to you, Tenten, but they had a different effect on Neji."

Neji had a feeling this was payback for when she called him an idiot. Tenten turned to Neji.

"Oh...I get it, it's because your eyes are more sensitive, right?"

Neji grumbled something indecipherable, then handed Lee her towel back.

"Thank you, Lee."

Tenten looked towards Gai.

"What now?"

Gai grinned.

"I'm glad you asked Tenten!" He replied, sounding as if he were in a cheesy commercial of some sort. "We're all going to run fifty laps around Konoha!! It's a good thing you already stretched!!"

Neji sighed. Should have seen that one coming. She began to stretch, as did Lee. Lee was still so friendly towards her, no matter how many times she put her down. It made Neji think of some sort lost, deranged puppy. Not that she'd ever had a pet.

She pulled off her jacket. This was going to be one long run, and it was getting warmer.

Tenten watched Neji for a minute. She realized with a shock that Neji already had curves! That wasn't fair, as if she wasn't already perfect enough...

Neji looked over at Tenten, then pulled her jacket over herself.

"What are you staring at?"

Tenten jumped. It was always hard to tell where Neji was looking, thanks to the fact that she had no pupils. She was quiet for second, using a shrug to buy herself more time to think of something.

"There's...a spot on your shirt..."

Neji quickly looked down and scanned her shirt for any stain. Lee laughed.

"You fell for it! That's the oldest trick in the book, Neji!"

Neji rolled her eyes and stood up, tying her jacket around her waist.

"Are you ready to run or what?"

Lee quickly stood up.

"I'm ready! How about you, Tenten?"

Tenten nodded quickly. She was grateful that Lee thought she'd pulled a prank on Neji. She wasn't about to admit she was jealous of Neji's body.

They all quickly set off at a run, Lee outpacing them. Tenten and Neji ran at about the same speed.

-----

Fifty laps later, even Lee was ready to curl up and take a nap. They all agreed it would be best for them to take a lunch break, despite Gai's accusations of unyouthfulness. Tenten opened her lunch, spring rolls and rice, and Lee opened hers up, a sandwich and potato chips (she doesn't cook well). Neji took this moment to realize that she'd forgotten her lunch. Tenten quirked an eyebrow when Neji took her seat with no lunch.

"No wonder you're so thin, you're anorexic!"

Neji let out a hiss of annoyance. This girl was getting on her nerves, and her nerves were especially shot, now that she didn't have lunch.

"Oh, shut up!"

Tenten simply chuckled to herself. So Neji wasn't perfect.

Just then, a small Hyuuga boy came running into the clearing, and promptly tripped over his own feet. Neji immediately stood up.

"Hanshiro...what are you doing here?"

The small boy nervously rubbed the back of his neck.

"Hi, Neji Onee-chan. You f-forgot your l-lunch s-so I th-thought I'd..."

He held up Neji's lunch, and Neji took it. Then to Tenten and Lee's surprise, she bowed.

"Thank you, Hanshiro sama."

Hanshiro turned a little red with embarassment.

"Please don't call me that..."

Neji's fierce eyes snapped up and Hanshiro squeaked.

"G-good bye, Neji Onee-chan!!"

He darted out of the training field. Tenten and Lee watched him go, both confused.

"Neji, who was that? And why were you so mean to him?"

Neji took her seat with her lunch in her hand.

"That was Hanshiro, my cousin."

Tenten waited for her to answer the other part of the question, but it became obvious Neji wasn't going to answer, as she began to eat her lunch. Well, at least now Tenten knew Neji was an all round grouch to everyone, not just Lee and her.

**I have introduced M!Hinata, a.k.a. Hanshiro. Yes, that was the closest name I could find. I just couldn't stick a guy with the name 'Hinata'. Anyway, I also don't know much about Japanese suffixes, so if I got those wrong, let me know! Next chapter: The first mission!**


	5. I prefer to call it 'film',or, Chapter 4

**Okay, it's about time I update, right?**

**I own absolutely nothing!**

Their first mission was an unimportant, menial job. In fact, it was like a tradition for all genin to have to take this mission, and every other ninja could tell when they'd taken it, because of the 'battle scars' they recieved. Team Gai was hunting down a cat.

Lee crouched inconspicuously behind the bushes, following the cat, instructions floating to her from Neji through the radio.

"...down the next alleyway, hiding behind the box, got it you two?"

From the other end of the alleyway, behind the wall that blocked it off, Tenten confirmed that she'd understand.

"Yeah, Neji, we got it."

Neji was a little farther back, her byakugan activated and focusing in on the cat.

"All right, on my mark...one...two...Lee! What are you--?!"

Lee had gotten over excited, and she sprung at the cat the second she'd seen it. She quickly caught it by the tail, causing it to yowl and scratch her.

Tenten climbed over the wall casually, inspecting the cat that Lee held onto tightly. She radioed back to Neji.

"Neji, this is the wrong cat."

Neji had caught up by then, her byakugan still activated, making Tenten wince slightly again, a movement that didn't escape Neji's notice, but she chose not to comment on it.

"What do you mean it's the wrong cat?"

Lee wrestled with the hissing animal, trying to keep it from getting away. Tenten rolled her eyes.

"They said dark brown with a bow on it's ear. This one is clearly black."

Neji deactivated her byakugan, frowning. She crossed her arms.

"It's dark brown, Tenten. It's the right cat."

Tenten glared, gesturing down at the cat that was currently tearing Lee's hair out of it's braid.

"No! That's black! What are you, color blind?!"

Neji crossed her arm coolly, looking down her nose at Tenten in a condescending manner, despite them both being the same height.

"Tenten, you might not understand this, but I am the team leader, not you. I'll decide if it's the right cat." Lee crashed into a trash can, tumbling to the ground, but still valiantly keeping hold of the cat.

Tenten turned red with anger, getting in Neji's face.

"You can't change reality just because you're the team leader! That cat is black!!"

Lee was now using her arms and legs to hold onto the cat. Who ever thought it could be so strong?!

"Guys? Help?"

Neji shook her head at Tenten, as if she'd just said the sky was purple, or grass was blue.

"Tenten, let's just take in the cat, before Lee loses it."

She bent over and got a firm hold on the nape of the cat's neck before lifting it, holding the cat out in front of her like some diseased bunch of fur. Lee stood up again, brushing herself off and trying to fix her hair.

"Thanks Neji! That is one strong cat!"

Neji sniffed, walking towards the office with the cat.

"Hardly, Lee."

---

It turned out, Neji had been right, a fact she didn't let Tenten forget anytime soon. They collected their pay and headed towards their respective homes, when Lee caught sight of a movie theater that was, apparently, playing an interesting looking movie. With more money than she normally had burning a hole in her pocket, she eagerly decided it would be a good idea to go to the movies. She turned to Tenten.

"Wanna go to the movies? There's a good movie showing now!"

Tenten grinned.

"A movie sounds good. Let's go!"

Lee looked over to see if Neji would come, apparently trying some variation of the puppy-dog face on her. Neji shook her head.

"You two are already spending your money, minutes after Tsunade handed it to you? Way to be mature."

Tenten glared.

"We just wanted to have some fun, idiot, and we don't want you to come anyway, because you'd spoil it."

Lee sighed sadly, while Neji and Tenten started to bicker again. So much for going to the movies with her team. If only Gai sensei were here, he'd know what to do...

Suddenly, Lee perked up.

"I'll pay for your ticket if you come, Neji." She offered brightly.

Neji turned slightly red, though whether it was from embarassment or anger at the idea, it was hard to tell.

"I can pay for my own ticket perfectly well!" She said, walking angrily towards the theater and scaring the poor girl in the booth. Lee grinned and followed, ordering her ticket right after.

"Don't mind my teammate, she's hormonal." She explained with a smile, before turning to follow Neji inside.

Tenten followed right after, wondering if Lee was smarter than she looked, or if she just had dumb luck.

Upon entering the dark theater, she scanned the room for Lee and Neji, spotting them somewhere in the middle. She moved over there quickly, taking a seat beside Lee. Lee had gotten a tub of popcorn, and was already attempting to share it with Neji, who wrinkled her nose and passed.

Then, the movie started.

It wasn't the best thing Tenten had ever seen. Some of the acting was cheesy, and the clothes were much brighter and flashier than anyone in real life would ever wear. Even the battles were filled with special effects and such, making them seem glamorous. It was, however, a pretty good movie otherwise.

Lee seemed to be enjoying the movie as well, only stopping her staring to eat popcorn.

Somewhere around the middle, it occurred to Tenten that Neji wasn't saying anything. She would've expected her to be the type to critique the movie while it was playing. She looked over at Neji, and was immediately surprised.

Neji's large, moon-like eyes were trained on the movie, reflecting it back like a pair of glasses would. Her mouth was slightly open, and she was leaning forward, as if she didn't want to miss a minute. It was like she'd never seen a movie before...

...but that was ridiculous, Tenten concluded. The Hyuuga family had enough money to _buy_ every movie that came out, they probably went to theaters all the time. Still, looking at Neji's mesmerized expression, it was hard to think otherwise.

**Movies are too new-fangled for the mighty and ancient Hyuuga clan, ya know. ; P**

**Don't forget to review, I do adore them so much! :D**


	6. I spy something red, or, Chapter 5

**I think this one might be a little more serious than usual, but, hey, the humor needs a contrast I suppose...**

**I own nothing!!**

Their first mission outside the village was a basic one; escort an older man to his home city unharmed. There weren't even any goods or such involved, just the guy. Hence, Team Gai had gotten it.

Neji was the first at the gate, as she almost always was. She claimed to have been there twenty minutes already when the others arrived, but Tenten figured she exxagerated for show. Neji was a show-off, after all.

Their customer arrived a couple minutes later, his hair a mess, and his walk lopsided. Tenten immediately realized the guy was drunk. She figured Gai and Neji had caught it too, but naive Lee had probably missed it entirely.

Neji wrinkled her nose slightly at the smell that came off the man. It made her think of a mix of armpits and vinegar.

Lee, however, smiled brightly at their customer, as did their sensei.

"Hello, we're going to be your escorts!" She greeted cheerily. The man looked at her blearily for a moment, before turning his gaze on the rest of the team, his gaze ending on Neji; and staying there, much to her discomfort. She adjusted her tank top self-consciously, then crossed her arms, as if to hide herself. She would've worn her coat, which she had tied around her waist at the moment, but it was a warm day, and a large portion of their trip was going to be through a shadeless region.

Gai suddenly shacked the man on the back, causing him to jump in surprise, his attention completely away from Neji, much to her relief.

"Do not worry! We will get you safely there, through the power of youth!!"

Lee nodded eagerly in agreement, looking amazed at Gai's awesomeness.

And so they set off on their journey.

---

Three hours of walking later (since their client couldn't run, at least not as fast as they wanted), Neji was wearing her jacket, despite the blazing sun, Gai was making conversation with their client, and Lee and Tenten were playing 'I Spy'.

"I spy with my little eye, something red!" Lee finished off with a giggle, poking fun at her bejacketed teammate. It was obviously too warm for a jacket, and Neji's pale skin was flushed from the heat.

Tenten laughed along with her, while Neji glared kunai at them. Didn't they see the way that man had been looking at her?

"I spy something stupid!" Neji shot back with venom. Lee quieted for a second, looking at Neji seriously.

"Neji, that's not nice to say about Tenten." She told her, a grin threatening to break out on her face.

Tenten punched Lee in the arm.

"Hey!!" She complained, though by the amused look on her face, they could tell she wasn't upset about it. She looked over at Neji with an eyebrow raised.

"What's wrong?" She asked. Neji was normally a more logical person, and she normally wouldn't react so...childishly...to something like that. Neji looked away for a second, fidgeting with the edges of her sleeves for a second. Then she turned back, leaning in close.

"I...think our client was...staring at my...um..." She said in a whisper, then trailing off, turning red.

Tenten actually burst out laughing. Neji was so conceited sometimes!

"Right, and I'm sure by the time this mission is done, he'll be madly in love with you!" She said, still chuckling. Just because she had curves didn't mean that all the guys immediately loved her, that was silly.

Neji looked ready to punch her, as Gai and their client looked back at them with a mix of curiosity and confusion on their faces. Lee poked Tenten, giving her a slightly reproachful look. This was obviously a delicate subject for Neji, judging by the way she turned crimson.

Tenten looked over at Lee.

"What? She's just being her normal egomaniac self..." She said, immediately defending her own actions. She wasn't in the wrong!

Lee patted Neji's shoulder, though Neji immediately flinched away angrily, shooting her a glare.

"You know what?! Forget it! Forget I said anything!!" She moved over to the other side of the road with a huff, crossing her arms and refusing to look at them.

Lee sighed slightly, but decided to give her some space.

"Your turn, Tenten!"

"Huh? My turn what?"

"I spy, remember?"

"Oh, right! I spy with my little eye..."

---

That evening, Lee was in charge of setting up the tent, while Neji was busy gathering firewood, and Tenten was getting out the mess kit, to cook dinner. All they'd had for lunch was some cold rice and beans, so they were all eager for a hot dinner.

Their client rested, leaning against a tree, while Gai sat on a log near him, speaking proudly of his team. At about the time Lee was wrestling with the canvas that made up the tent, their client excused himself to make a bathroom break, heading into the woods they were camping at the fringe of.

Tenten looked over at Lee's struggle, and chuckled slightly. That was Lee, never giving up. She didn't seem to get frustrated easily at all.

"Need any help over there? I can't start cooking until Miss Priss gets back with the firewood."

Lee smiled, but shook her head.

"If I let you help me this time, I won't know how to put it up next time." She reasoned, as she untied a knot in one of the support ropes.

Neji arrived back just then with the firewood. She looked grouchy, or grim faced. She plopped the firewood down next to Tenten moodily, some of the sticks hitting Tenten's feet, before heading over and expertly tightening the tent support ropes.

With the tent up, she headed inside to sulk, or whatever it was she did. Tenten glared, and even Lee didn't seem too happy with her behavior.

What on earth was up with Neji?

**A little different from a typical chapter, but I want to have a smattering of different genres in this thing...anyway...**

**Please don't forget to review! I love love love reviews!  
**


	7. I think she accepts me, or, Chapter 6

**Yay! New chapter! Don't forget to review, all right! And a big thanks to everyone who reviewed last chapter!! Cyber waffles for all of you!!**

Neji sat in the tent, arms wrapped around herself. How dare he?! How dare he even suggest such a thing?! To her, a Hyuuga?!

It may be said in the Hyuuga clan that a girl without a father is more...licentious...but she wasn't like that!! How dare he?! Neji seethed angrily, her insides burning worse than her face. She heard a rustle at the front of the tent, and immediately readied a death glare for the person who dared to intrude. This was one thing she hated about being on a team: someone was always there. She was used to solitude.

Lee flinched slightly under her glare, eyes quickly finding something else to look at.

"Hey, Neji...?"

'That pedophiliac freak!!' Neji's mind raged on, fueling the glare.

"What?!" She snapped, causing Lee to jump slightly.

"Is something wrong...cuz, I was supposed to put up the tent..." Lee continued.

---

Tenten watched with slight amusement as Lee retreated from the tent, hurried on by a few kunai. It was probably Neji's monthly, or something. Or she broke a nail. Tenten laughed slightly at the thought. It did seem Neji-like to be upset over appearances.

Lee scratched the back of her head.

"She seems a little grouchy..." She decided.

Tenten snorted.

"More like a lot grouchy, Lee. You should probably just leave her alone until her hormones calm down."

Lee shrugged.

"Yeah, I guess you're right...what's hormones?"

---

An hour later, they'd eaten, cleaned up, and were ready for bed. Lee found the plate of food she'd left at the edge of the tent had gone cold. She cautiously poked her head in, only to find Neji curled up like a cat, fast asleep. She smiled slightly, before giving Tenten the okay to come in.

Tenten followed Lee in, her eyes quickly adjusting to the dark. She snorted quietly when she saw Neji. She looked so...child-like. Like that time in the theater. What was the word? Relaxed. Neji always seemed tense, ready to strike, whether verbally or physically.

Lee put a blanket over Neji, before settling down in her own bed. Tenten also settled down, resisting the girlish urge to paint on Neji's face while she was asleep.

---

The next day was a lot like the last, though 'I spy' was getting a little boring, so Tenten and Lee had moved onto Simon Says. Which was why currently, the two girls were hopping on one foot along the road. They'd asked Neji earlier to be Simon for them, but her orders were often fatal, so they gave that up pretty quickly. Neji was still her irritable self, looking ready to drop dead from a heat stroke, thanks to wearing her jacket in the hot sun.

And Gai and their client were still up at the front, talking about who knows what. They stopped for lunch when they found a small grove of trees, even though it was a little early. Neji sat moodily against a tree, obviously angry with the world. Lee cheerily sat down next to her, disregarding the death aura.

"Hey, Neji, guess what? I won at Simon Says."

Neji let out what sounded like a growl and moved to the other side of the tree. Lee simply followed her.

"I guess I'm just better at hopping on one foot than Tenten. You wanna join us next time?"

Neji irritably moved to the other side of the tree again, hoping Lee would take the hint. But, then again, Lee had never been very good with hints...

"You can be Simon, since me and Tenten have already had a turn." She continued, scooting right along with her. Neji turned towards her, looking ready to wring her neck.

"Stop following me! Can't you see I want to be alone?!"

Lee looked back at her, blinking in confusion.

"Why?"

Neji paused, not quite expecting that response. Nobody really ever asked her why when she told them to leave her alone, they just left. Nobody wanted to mess with her, or her obvious temper.

"Because, I need time on my own, all right?"

Lee looked slightly saddened.

"Oh...well, when you want to stop being alone, you know where I am, all right?"

Neji blinked. That was...nice of her to say...

"All right." She replied, startling Lee. She'd gotten a response! Elated, she hurried over to where Tenten was.

"I think Neji is finally accepting me." She told her, smiling. Tenten scrunched her eyebrows in confusion.

"Lee, not beating you up is not acceptance..." She told the girl. Poor Lee, it was like being in an abusive relationship or something. Couldn't be healthy at all...

Lee rolled her eyes slightly, impatiently shaking her head.

"No, that's not what I'm talking about! Just earlier she said--" She was cut off by a yelp of pain, and both turned to see their client staggering away from the tree Neji had been at, blood dripping out of his mouth. Lee's eyes widened, and both girls were immediately on their guard. Who was attacking them?! How many?!

Gai also sprang into action, quickly going to check on his last student. He found her on the other side of the tree, with blood on her face and her arms wrapped around herself.

"Neji, who was it, did you see anything?!" He asked, trying to pull her to her feet. Neji pulled away, and looked up at him, and when their eyes locked, Gai suddenly knew what had happened. That fire that Neji usually saw in his eyes seemed to burn brighter than usual, as he moved to the other side of the tree, grabbing their client by his collar.

"She's only twelve!! Just a child!" He looked at him with disgust, as the man shook in fear. He probably thought he was going to kill him. Maybe he should.

Tenten and Lee both watched in confusion, unsure if they should still be on guard for enemy ninja. Gai suddenly slammed the man into a tree, and they could hear what sounded like a bone snapping, and the man shrieked in pain. Gai dropped him, leaving him in an undignified heap.

"We'll take you home. After I've finished teaching you what happens when you attack one of my students!" Gai seemed scarier than Lee or Tenten could've ever imagined him. Of course, Tenten had mostly thought of him as some big clown before, but now...now she was glad she was on his good side...

**Ending it there just because. Don't forget to review, all right? Lee'll cry if you don't!**


	8. It's not your fault,or, Chapter 7

**I still own nothing! This story is getting quite dark...anyone think I should up the rating??**

The run home was quiet and cautious, as if everyone was afraid to speak to Neji, who ran ahead of them with her back to them, hiding her face. Her back was rigid, and she still wore the jacket, despite it being too warm.

When they arrived at the gates, Gai tried to talk to her, abd she made an attempt to simply hurry on home. Gai caught her arm.

"Neji, stay a minute. We need to talk..."

Neji jerked her arm away from him.

"I don't want to talk about anything!" She snapped, as Lee and Tenten stared at the scene before them. They had no desire to step into this unfamiliar territory.

Gai sighed, and crouching down to Neji's level, he looked her seriously in the eye.

"I need you to tell me what that man did to you, and whether or not we need to take you to the hospital."

Neji looked away, shame evident on her face. Tenten cringed, slowly backing away. She didn't want to hear this...it was private information, nothing to do with her...

Gai remained in the same position, waiting for her to speak. He knew better than to press her too hard about what had happened. Neji finally looked back, though she didn't make eye contact.

"I...nothing...um, nothing carnal..." She said, her embarassment showing, as tears stained her face. "Just...it was..." Gai wrapped his arms around her gently, and she fell silent.

"It's all right, you don't have to go on." Gai assurred her. "None of this was your fault, understand?"

Neji cried silently, nodding in agreement, though she wasn't completely free of guilt in her own mind.

Gai suddenly felt her tense, her fingers grabbing the front of his jumpsuit. He looked down at the fearful face of Neji.

"P-please, d-don't tell--" Gai put a finger on her mouth, stopping her.

"I wouldn't. It's all right Neji."

Lee joined the pair, despite her own unease. Seeing Neji like this; crying, messy, disorganized...it made her want to make her feel better. Maybe it was her mother instinct, maybe it was friendship. Whatever it was, Tenten didn't seem to have it, and had already slipped away.

---

Later that evening, Neji entered the Hyuuga compound late, and a mess. Even her usually immaculate hair was a mess. She walked through quietly, hoping not to come upon anyone. She was done with crying now, and just wanted to go to sleep.

However, with a thoughtful, concerned cousin like Hanshiro...

"Neji, are you all right?!" The hushed whisper startled her, as her failure of a cousin seemed to melt out of the shadows. She quickly covered her surprise, looking down seriously at Hanshiro.

"Why wouldn't I be?" She asked, despite having a pretty good idea how terrible she looked. She pushed some of her hair back behind her ear casually.

Hanshiro, on the other hand, seemed to be examining her more closely.

"There's blood on your clothes!"

Neji lost patience.

"Be quiet!" She snapped. She didn't want him to wake anyone up, or attract attention from the already awake. "I was on a mission, of course there'd be blood!"

Hanshiro still looked concerned, but kept his mouth followed her as she headed into the branch quarters. Neji turned.

"What?!"

Hanshiro jumped, then regained his confidence.

"D-do you need any help?"

Neji got to her bedroom, and slammed the paper door in his face. Which wasn't really such a great idea, since it awoke about half the compound. Hanshiro scampered out of there, not wanting to have to deal with angry, tired Hyuuga.

---

The next day, Neji was clean and ready for practice. Lee seemed to be concerned for her, her gaze flicking back to her every couple seconds, as if to make sure she wasn't breaking down or something. Tenten seemed to be keeping her distance. Like Neji cared anyway...

Gai cleared his throat to make sure all his students were paying attention. He seemed a little more serious this morning than most mornings, since he wasn't striking some ridiculous pose while telling them how awesome the training was going to be.

"We're going to be running today, for endurance, so stretch those legs!"

The three students immediately dropped down, beginning with splits and toe touching. Lee had chosen a place right next to Neji, and noticed that Neji was once again in her tank top. She was probably comfortable around them. Lee smiled slightly to herself at the thought, before turning her attention to Neji again.

"Want to be my running partner?" She asked, smiling brightly.

Neji wrinkled her nose slightly.

"I'd rather run by myself, thank you." She noticed Lee brighten slightly, and frowned slightly as she stretched forward to touch her toes, wondering what had gotten into Lee's fool head this time.

Lee scooted across the grass to Tenten.

"I think Neji's accepting me!!"

Tenten rolled her eyes.

"Saying thank you is a common courtesy, Lee, not a sign of friendship..." That poor girl needed a real friend...

Gai clapped his hands, signalling for the girls to get up.

"On your mark, get set, go!" They sped into the forest that surrounded Konoha, making quick time, though Gai and Lee were quickly taking the lead. Which left Tenten and Neji at the back together, since they ran about the same pace. Tenten glanced over at Neji, before turning quickly away, and upping her pace, ran ahead. Neji's brow furrowed.

Tenten thought lowly of her for the incident, huh? She'd fix that...

**Cliffhanger, cuz I love you guys!! Anyway, just as a note, I'm not trying to demonize Tenten or anything; everyone reacts differently to these things. **

**Don't forget to review, or you'll never find out what happens next *cough*Chuuninexams*cough*!**


	9. Please don't make me cry,or, Chapter 8

**Thanks for all the reviews!! **

**I own nothing. You guys already know that, but today is State the Obvious day. (btw, I updated!! ^^)**

The training hadn't been too tough that day; Gai was going easy on them for Neji's sake. At least, his definition of easy.

And yet, during any teamtraining exercise, Neji would deliberately get in Tenten's way, or trip her up, or simply let her fall. At first Tenten seemed to be fine with it, but when Neji let her fall on her back during a trust exercise, she lost it.

Jabbing a finger angrily in Neji's direction, she vented.

"What the hell, Neji?! Why'd you just let me fall?! What is up with you?!" She screamed, her face begin to turn red.

Neji looked back at her pointedly.

"Thank you for acknowledging me." She replied evenly, some sarcasm evident. Tenten faltered.

"What?"

Neji looked at her seriously.

"You've been avoiding me since the mission. I'm glad you finally decided to acknowledge that I'm still here."

Tenten sighed. Had she really been avoiding her? She stopped to think.

"All right, I'm sorry, Neji. But did you seriously have to drop me ON MY HEAD?!" The two went back to their normal routine of bickering, and Lee watched with satisfaction. Neji was beginning to heal...or she was just cranky and wanted someone to argue with...

Lee quickly stepped in to break up the argument.

---

Later that day, Neji was back home, reading a scroll. It seemed almost as if she was constantly studying, at least to Hanshiro. That's how she got to be so smart.

He tapped nervously on her paper door.

"Neji?"

There was a noise of acknowledgement from the other side of the door, telling him she was listening. He took a deep breath, before opening the door.

"Neji? I have this big test coming up in the academy, and I was wondering if, um..."

Neji seemed to suddenly put all her attention on him. The look she had on her face was less than encouraging.

"...if you could help me with my shadow clone jutsu!!" He managed to squeak out, withering under her stare.

Neji stood, marching over close to him.

"Aren't you supposed to be the heir of the main branch? Shouldn't you be able to do it on your own? I did it on my own; what sort of main branch are you if you can't beat a lowly branch family member?" She asked each one in quick succession, her gaze boring into him, tearing him down in seconds.

Hanshiro quickly turned, feeling his nose prickle; a familiar sensation he always had before he cried. He tried to stop from crying, Neji would only ridicule him further.

"Are you crying?!" Neji demanded, stepping closer.

This pushed Hanshiro over the edge, and he fled from the room, trying to wipe away the tears faster than they came. He was sorry he'd even thought of asking. He should've known he'd get that sort of reaction. His cousin hated him...but he wasn't sure why...

---

Lee stopped at the Hyuuga compound, staring up at the big, imperious doors that marked the entrance. It made one feel that if one stepped inside, you would never come out. To her surprise, Hanshiro suddenly burst out, wiping furiously at his face. She caught him by the arms. This was Neji's little cousin, after all, she couldn't just let him run off without finding out what was wrong.

"What's wrong?"

The boy still wiped at his face, trying to stop. He was obviously embarassed that he was crying. Poor kid.

"I-I--I'm sorry..."

Lee sighed. Were all the Hyuuga messed up? She led the small boy to the other side of the street, where the was a bench, and settled him down.

"It's all right, you can cry if you want to. What made you cry?" She asked with concern.

The boy still wiped at his face.

"Neji hates me."

Lee quickly put two and two together.

"She got angry at you?"

"Yeah." Came the sad reply, and Hanshiro looked down at his feet. "It's because I'm a failure..."

Lee shook her head.

"No, of course not! She's just grouchy because--" Lee stopped herself before blurting out what had happened. This was an impressionable kid, after all.

Hanshiro looked at Lee, obviously knowing that something had happened to Neji, and wanting to know what it was. Lee shook her head.

"I can't tell you exactly, but something bad happened on our mission. That's why she's angry. It's not you." She said, putting a hand on his shoulder sympathetically. "I'd just stay out of her way for a while if I were you."

Hanshiro sighed, looking down, and wondering what terrible thing had happened to Neji. Not that she wasn't usually grouchy, but the state she'd been in that night...it scared him.

"I'm her cousin. Can't you tell me what happened? I saw her when she came back home. She looked terrible..." He looked at Lee almost pleadingly. Lee shook her head again.

"It's up to her to tell you." She looked back towards the mansion. "I'll come back later to visit, when she's in a better mood." She decided out loud, standing to leave.

Hanshiro stood as well.

"Thank you."

Lee smiled.

"No problem. And remember: The only way you can be a failure is if you don't try!"

Hanshiro watched her leave. What a strange girl...

**Okay, so I've been working on pairing stuff, and right now, Neji is the one I'm working on. I wrote a bunch of little oneshots of the different pairings I'm entertaining. Review and tell me which one sounds the best!! (i.e. get your vote in!!)**

_ShikaNeji:_

_Neji sighed, wiping __at her wet eyes. It wasn't fair!! She had so much potential, so much skill! She didn't want to miss the Jounin exams because she had to baby-sit her cousin! Hanshiro could defend himself, he wasn't the weak little child he used to be! She sobbed quietly to herself, alone in the woods. It wasn't fair..._

_She felt a pair of strong arms wrap around her from behind, pulling her into a gentle hug. "There's always next year, Neji..." A calm voice reminded her, as she leaned back against him. She sighed. He was right..._

_SasuNeji:_

_Sasuke stared boredly across the table at the painted face on the other side. This was for his clan, for power. A Hyuuga would be a good match for the last of the Uchiha. It had nothing to do with love. It was simply wise of him to do. Their children would be strong, and they would make the name of Uchiha clan known across the world again. Still, looking at the stone face across from him, he wondered if this was really the best idea. _

_Sure, she had a strong bloodline, and was one of the most skilled in her clan. But the curse mark..._

_ShiNeji (Shino/Neji):_

_Neji pressed her hands against her seal, willing, no, pleading with her attacker to stop the red hot iron from pressing into her skill. Her world seemed to be spinning, and all she could hear was a high-pitched shriek; her own voice tearing through the air and echoing in her head. Suddenly, there was a yell added to the noise, short and sudden, unlike her drawn out scream. And the pain dulled. She looked up blearily, squinting against the light as Shino bent over her, carefully gathering her up in his arms. He didn't offer any words of comfort as he lifted her, holding her close. She felt safe, and drifted into uncobsciousness..._

_NaruNeji:_

_Tenten watched in amusement as Neji seemed slightly awkward around Naruto. Ever since he'd promised to change the Hyuuga clan, the two had been in love. Sort of. Naruto had scared Neji out of her wits when he suddenly kissed her days afterward, when she'd survived the mission that had nearly cost her and Chouji their lives. The two had been kind've cat and mouse since then. Neji was often afraid of getting close to people, but Naruto kept on pushing, slowly getting past the walls she'd put around herself._

_It was sweet to watch them now, as Neji quietly sat next to Naruto, listening to him tell her about a mission. That girl could be so shy sometimes..._


	10. Ready, set, don't go, or, Chapter 9

**Yeah, I know, I finally updated. I own nothing, as usual!!**

**Anyway, an official consensus has not been reached with Neji, so I'm not going to decide on hers just yet. It's a while to go before she deals with that anyway. The top voted (including Pms, and my twin's opinion) so far are:**

**ShikaNeji**

**Shineji**

**Naruneji**

**In that order. **

The next day it was practice as usual, though Gai seemed to be keeping a close eye on Neji. Half way through the day, he called his 'youthful' students to gather round.

"I have something very important to tell you all! As you might know, the Chuunin exams are coming up."

The group of three quickly exchanged looks, wondering if he was going to enter them. Their hopes and/or fears were quickly shattered by Gai's next statement.

"And you guys aren't going to be entering until next year! We will, however, attend the matches. Think of how youthful that will be!!"

Neji frowned, crossing her arms. Obviously, she'd been set on competing. Lee let out a breath of relief. While she believed she could do it, she thought she needed more training time before she was ready. Besides, watching the exams would give her an idea of what to train for. Tenten wasn't sure what to feel; sure, she wanted to become chuunin, but she had her own fears about entering in the notorious exam.

"What do you mean we aren't entering until next year?" Neji asked, her eyes flashing.

Gai seemed to sober up a little. He looked down at her seriously.

"Neji, even if you qualify for this, the other two are not ready. And your teamwork...needs work. Besides, I wouldn't want to send you now...you need time--"

"Time to what?! Heal?! I'm fine!! I don't need extra time, like some weakling!!" She exclaimed angrily, taking a step forward. Just because she was female didn't mean she was weak...

Gai sighed, running a hand through his hair.

"Neji, regardless; your teammates are not ready and you need them to enter. So, today, we are going to work on our teamwork!!"

Neji groaned, shoulders slumping in defeat. Typical.

Tenten, on the other hand, bore a glare into the back of Neji's skull. It had been obvious that she thought herselves superior to her and Lee since day one, but she was just so arrogant just now! It made Tenten want to wring Neji's pale neck...and scratch up her hands... The thought made her grin evilly. She suddenly caught Lee staring at her.

"Are...you okay, Tenten?"

Tenten quickly switched to a friendly smile, beaming amiably at Lee.

"Oh, just fine! Pay attention to Gai-sensei!"

Lee's attention was quickly diverted from Tenten, and Tenten went back to glaring at Neji's arrogant head. Stupid, arrogant Hyuuga...

----

Team building exercises were many things, but the main way Tenten would describe them is "no fun at all". At the moment, Gai had tied their legs together, and their goal was to reach the top of some climbing set-up, and grab a flag. So far, they hadn't even made it off the ground.

Neji huffed, seeming to give up. Lee, on the other hand, was far from giving up, even if it was, as Neji said, "even stupider than the onion exercise". Attempting to scale the scaffold again, she found a good handhold, and turning, grabbed Tenten's hand and placed it on a good handhold. When she reached for Neji, Neji rolled her eyes and gave in, following Lee's guidance.

Lee kept doing this until both her teammates realized with a shock that they were halfway towards their goal. Lee grinned at them, and continued the process, reaching out and placing Tenten's hand on the correct handhold. Neji raised an eyebrow, and found her own handhold. Pretty soon, they were all climbing together, reaching the top and giving Lee a boost so she could reach a flag. By then, they'd been out in the sun for three long, hot hours, and their bare skin was starting to stick to each other.

Lee waved the flag with a cry of victory, before using it to wipe the sweat from her forehead. She passed it on to Neji, who used it without complaint, and handed it off to Tenten, who used it and dropped it to the ground below. They wouldn't be able to climb if they had to hold onto it, and no one really wanted to carry it in their mouth.

The three began to climb again as a unit, when there was suddenly a wolf-whistle from below. Neji swiftly moved to cover herself, self-conscious about her curviness. Unfortunately, this threw the rest of the team off balance, and they went crashing towards the ground, Tenten screaming at Neji for letting go, and Lee screaming out of pure surprise.

They landed in a heap at the feet of a man with spiky white hair, with a perverted grin on his face. Tenten paid little attention to the man, instead yanking Neji up by her hair angrily.

"What the Hell was that for?!!"

Neji winced, using her fingers to pry her hair from Tenten's grip. Her face was turning red.

Lee stared up at the stranger.

"Who are you?"

The man gave her a wink, though his eyes roved over Neji, she being one of the few members of Team Gai who currently looked...more mature. Neji pulled on the jacket she'd had tied around her waist, ignoring Tenten. She flipped up the hood, as if to hide. The man's gaze focused back on Lee, and he introduced himself.

"I am Jiraiya, one of the three Sannin." He explained, bending over and picking up the red flag on the ground. He handed it to her.

"I'm here to see the Chuunin exams beginning; heard there'd be some interesting people this year."

Tenten untied the rope that tethered her to her teammates, and stood, giving Lee a hand up.

"This isn't where the Chuunin exams are being held; try the Hokage's office." She seemed to be hinting that the man should leave. She wasn't too happy about the fall he'd caused. Just then, however, Gai came into view, to check on his students. His eyes immediately zeroed in on Jiraiya.

"Jiraiya! It's been a while since you've been back! How have your travels been?" The two began to talk, walking away. Tenten turned to Neji.

"Next time, let's not go crazy because some guy whistled at us!" She said in a scathing tone, before turning on her heel and stalking away. Lee sighed. Why did these two always have to fight??

**And now, drum roll please...*drum rolls by* **

**-_-**

**Anyway, Lee's shots are below. Don't forget to vote, all opinions will be considered!!**

NaruLee:

Team Gai walked along the hallway calmly, each going through the list of things they had to remember for the next exam. Each had studied pretty hard so they'd be ready. The calmness and togetherness of their group was quickly broken, however, when Lee suddenly skidded to a stop, her eyes seeming to practically pop out of her face.

"Who is that?! He's so cute!!" She squealed, sounding every bit a fangirl. Neji and Tenten turned, and saw she was staring at some blonde boy in an orange jumpsuit. Neji rolled her eyes.

"It's just some loudmouth, let's keep going Lee..."

Lee moved forward, enamored by the blonde. She giggled and hid behind Neji when he looked their way. Neji groaned. _Idiot..._

GaaLee:

Despite almost being killed by him, Lee had been quick to forgive Gaara.

And when he came to her later complaining of a strange feeling "in my heart", she was quick to try and make him feel better.

She was the first to make him truly smile in years.

People were still caught by surprise, however, when the two began to date. The monster and the misfit...how fitting.

ChoujiLee:

Lee giggled to herself, giddy with anticipation. Tenten had just dolled her up for her date; Chouji would be so surprised!

Just as she'd imagined, his eyes popped out in surprise when he saw her. But then he looked away for a second, almost as if he were embarassed. "I thought we weren't going to dress up..." He said, his ears turning red.

Just then, a passerby commented loudly to their companion. "Oh look, 'Beauty and the Beast'. You don't see that sort of thing much anymore."

Lee looked from Chouji's humiliated face to the laughing passersby. Then she made them eat those words!

HanLee:

Hanshiro walked cautiously to the training ground where his cousin's team trained. Neji normally didn't like it when he came to visit, but he wasn't there to visit her today; he was here to see Lee. Though he didn't want her to see him.

There was just something about her that inspired him, the way she never gave up.

He wanted to be like her someday.


	11. Kidnapped!, or, Chapter 10

**Sorry I took so long to update, I've been trying to write a speech...**

Neji paced inside her bedroom. Today was the day of the Chuunin Exams, and she did not desire to go out and see any reminders of the fact that others were probably earning their next rank now, while she was left unable to participate. Even though she knew Gai was right, she was still angry with him for not letting her try.

She was brought out of her mood by a light tapping on her door. She slid it open, finding a fellow branch family member standing outside the door. The girl bowed and handed her a slip of paper, indicating that she was to meet Hiashi in the garden for a talk. She nodded solemnly, and waited until the girl was gone to begin worrying.

What could he possibly want with her? Did she forget a chore? A sudden, chilling thought struck her:

What if he knew about...? Neji quickly banished the thought from her mind. She hadn't given him any reason to think she'd been...doing anything of the sort. And Gai had promised not to tell...but maybe he'd only been saying that to calm her down. The thought nagged at her, until she feared she would break down in tears if she went to see her Uncle in the garden.

But he was waiting for her.

She quickly fingercombed her hair, gave her face a once-over in the mirror, assumed perfect posture, then headed out the door as if absolutely nothing was wrong, though she was certain her hammering heart would give her away. She stepped tentatively into the garden, finding her Uncle standing there ready, his cold, hard stare quickly turning in her direction. Her stomach twisted into a knot, and she vaguely felt as if she were about to lose her breakfast.

"Neji; your behavior has been unacceptable lately: I want an explanation." He said solemnly, not bothering to give her a clue as to what was 'unacceptable'. Neji wondered if she should just throw herself at his feet and begin begging for forgiveness now. Hiashi waited impatiently for an answer, his foot tapping. When she gave no response, he spoke again.

"I will not tolerate such immodest clothing, you are a young woman now, and I expect you to wear the proper undergarments." He said, though this time he looked away, as if slightly embarassed by the subject. Neji blinked in confusion.

"Proper undergarments, Hiashi-sama?" She repeated, not understanding what he was getting at. She had all the required articles, after all...

"Neji, I think perhaps you should talk to my housekeeper, Hiori. She will be better able to explain this to you." He turned and left briskly, leaving Neji to search out his housekeeper on his own.

Neji still stood there, confused. It wasn't like she was going around without a bra...what was he talking about? She turned and headed towards the area where Hiori lived, knocking on her door when she came to it.

"Hiori? Hiashi-sama sent me. He said you would know something about, um, proper undergarments...?" She cringed inwardly at how young and inexperienced she sounded. Hiori opened the door, apparently in good spirits after having heard Neji's dilemma.

Hiori was an older woman, with daughters of her own, not to mention grandchildren. Her hair had begun to be streaked with gray, and her skin had begun to wrinkle. She looked like the perfect grandmother, at least to Neji. She spirited Neji inside to learn the things that her mother had never taught her, such as the fact that she shouldn't still be wearing a starter bra...

---

Tenten and Lee eagerly sat in their seats watching the competitors for the Chuunin exams. They commented critically on each one, analyzing their strengths, weaknesses, and clothes. Lee watched with excitement, suddenly pointing out one of the competitors to Tenten.

"Look! It's one of the Hyuuga!" Tenten looked, and saw a guy with the typical eyes and long hair. The odd thing about him was, he was smiling. Tenten had been under the impression that Hyuuga never smile. Actually, she and Lee had come up with the joke that a Hyuuga would rather die than smile. But there was that boy, smiling like it was Christmas. He waved at teammates cheering in the stands.

Lee sighed. "Why can't our Neji be more like that?"

Tenten shuddered.

"Don't make it sound as if we're related to her or something!!"

Lee laughed slightly, but continued.

"Seriously though, what's the difference between her and that guy? Why isn't she happy like him?"

Tenten looked at Lee for a second. Lee was putting way too much thought into this; obviously, Neji was stuck up because she was related to the head of the clan, and vain about her looks.

"Lee, let's just watch the match, alright?"

Lee nodded, turning back to the match. She still wanted to find out what made Neji so...Neji. No one that age should be so serious...

---

Later, as it was getting dark, the two were stumbling back home, stuffed full of food and generally satisfied, even if they were tired, and kind of hyper off the sugar. Well, Lee was more the hyper one.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, a dark shadow of a person swooped down out of nowhere, grabbing hold of Lee and disappearing before Tenten could even think. She could hear Lee's yell of surprise swiftly fading, which meant that they were very far away by now.

"Lee!!" She ran after the sound in vain, finding no trail, since the person used rooftops. "Lee?!" The sound of Lee faded away. Tenten stopped. Who on earth would kidnap Lee?! What sort of evil ninja would kidnap a little girl?! She had to get Neji and Gai!!

---

She ran as quickly as she could to Gai's, her feet pounding against the street as she made no effort to be quiet. However, when she arrived, she found a note, complete with a smiley face giving a thumbs-up, that told the 'youthful students' that he was gone on a mission, and expected them to train on their own a few days. Tenten broke out in a cold sweat. Neji would think of something, right?

She ran to the Hyuuga compound, and, not caring for any ettiquite, pounded wildly on the door, until a Hyuuga slid the little window open, looking down at her condescendingly.

"Yes?" The Hyuuga asked boredly.

"I need Neji! Is she home?!" Tenten asked, her voice panicky and urgent.

The Hyuuga stood there for a couple seconds, before turning and leaving, sliding shut the little window behind him. Tenten immediately began pounding on the door again.

"No! Wait! It's an emergenc--"

"What do you want?!" Neji's voice snapped from the other side, sliding the window open again. She seemed annoyed with the fact that her teammate had come late at night to pound on the door to the Hyuuga compound. How embarassing.

"Lee's been kidnapped, and Gai's not home, and I couldn't find her, so I thought..." Tenten immediately began explaining. The window slammed shut again, and Tenten was ready to begin screaming, when the door opened, revealing Neji with slight bedhead and a white nightgown. Her byakugan was activated.

"Show me where you last saw her."

**Oh, the drama! And I know you guys are probably thinking "Who on earth would kidnap Lee? This is so outside canon...", but bear with me, and you'll see! ^_^**

**Anyway, here are Tenten's pairings! Just a note, there are currently only two pairings for her, because she's already a canon character, you know? So it's harder to write her being paired up with someone that she wasn't paired up with in the original series. If you have any bright suggestions, please, feel free to tell me them!**

_Kankuten_

_Tenten sat, patiently making her summoning scrolls. She paused to look across the room at her boyfriend, who was doing the same. His were a little bit more intricate, due to the fact that the objects he was summoning were more intricate. They were preparing for a mission together, one of many they'd been assigned to. Kankurou looked up at her._

_"Want to take a break and get something to eat?" He asked, sitting back from his scroll._

_Tenten smiled, setting her brush down. _

_"Sure, why not?" The room was starting to smell to strongly of ink anyway._

_The two headed out, hand in hand. She was a strong girl, one every Sand ninja seemed to approve of for the Kazekage's brother. She'd even gained Temari's approval, after a rematch the past year._

_"Tenten?" Kankurou was looking at her, and she noted that he was sweating slightly as he lead her into the small shop they both liked. _

_"You'd say we're very close, right?" _

_Tenten nodded, wondering why he seemed so nervous. Strange..._

_Kibaten (since Hinata is kind of out of the equation, he needs someone, right?)_

_They'd first become friends bcause of Neji. Strangely, it had been her doggedly defending Neji against Kiba's verbal attacks. Through their arguments, they swiftly became friends. And then boyfriend and girlfriend._

_"Hey, you got something on your nose."_

_"Where?"_

_"Right there."_

_"Ew! Kiba!! Don't lick my nose!!"_

_One could say their romance wasn't quite mature, though..._


	12. We All Know You Care,or, Chapter 11

**This chapter is totally dedicated to Hanai-kun. Wow, are you smart!**

**I own nothing, of course.**

It had been several hours of trekking through the woods in the dark, and Tenten was seriously beginning to doubt that Neji had really picked up a chakra trail, let alone that it belonged to Lee. Lee couldn't mold chakra, why would she leave a trail?

Neji suddenly stopped. Her immaculately white nightgown had become torn around the edges, and was more of a dingy brown, with burrs sticking along one of the sleeves like some sort of rustic embroidery. She bent down, picking up her bare foot, and beginning to pull at something. Tenten sighed and took a seat on the ground. She was just as grimy as Neji, if not more so, but she couldn't help noticing that Neji's hair still looked immaculate.

"You really should have put on shoes before we left." She chided her.

Neji shot her a look.

"For the twenty-seventh time, Tenten, I didn't think of it because I didn't think we'd have to track her through the woods!" She snapped, finishing digging whatever had pushed it way in this time out of her foot.

Tenten stood.

"Well? See any trail now? Or did you lose it when you were distracted by your foot?"

Neji stood, activating her byakugan again. She peered for about a second, before zeroing in on something on the ground. She bent over and picked it up, before handing it quietly to Tenten.

Tenten examined the object. A forehead protector. Not a good sign. It seemed new...which meant it could be Lee's...

"She's close. I think I sense her chakra signature..." Neji said, still scanning the forest about them. So many little details to go through, it was hard to find a trail in this mess.

"Think? I thought you were some sort of prodigy! Where is she Neji?" Tenten said, beginning to lose patience as she forced some stray hair back into her now lopsided bun. Okay, she was far past patience; this was an example of great restraint.

Neji quietly followed the trail, ignoring Tenten. What did she know anyway, stupid commoner...

Her eyes landed on what the trail led to. A small shack...but she couldn't see inside it. This meant the enemy they were dealing must be missing nin, or worse! What else could block the sight of the all-seeing byakugan?

Tenten groaned when Neji stopped.

"Don't tell you lost the trail again!"

Neji pointed towards the shack.

"I've found the end of it. But I can't see inside it. We must be dealing with a high-level nin."

Tenten squinted, then finally made out the well disguised shack.

"Oh...what do we do then?"

Neji looked at her with annoyance. She was far past patience by now, it was mere force of will that she didn't strangle the girl.

"We go in anyway; we're not going to abandon our teammate."

Tenten fumed.

"I didn't say we were going to! I'd never abandon a teammate either, Neji!!" She said, jabbing her in the side.

Neji stood, advancing towards the cabin.

"I'll take the door, since I can defend myself better. You take the window."

And with that, she was off, headed for the door. It took Tenten a couple seconds to make out that there even was a window, so by the time Neji crashed through the door, Tenten was still headed for the window. She heard a rather familiar laugh, and then Neji's 'I'm-going-to-tear-my-hair-out' shriek.

She burst through the window, sending shards of glass everywhere. The scene before her was far from what she expected; Lee was sitting, perfectly content, on a chair, and Neji was trying to strangle their sensei, who was trying to convince Neji that something was humorous. All the pieces clicked in place.

"Gai-sensei, you kidnapped Lee?!"

Despite being ferociously attack by his Hyuuga student, the man managed to give her a thumbs up, and one of his sparkly smiles.

"To build teamwork!"

Lee darted over to help pull Neji off.

"Calm down Neji, it was for your own good! Wow...you're a mess..."

Tenten was unsure of whether she wanted to kill their sensei, or laugh at the sight of Neji trying to kill him. She looked so innocent in her nightgown, after all.

---

Two hours later, everyone was mostly calm again, and Lee busily brushed out Neji's hair. It seemed as if it were the best way to calm her down. Tenten had gotten her fury out on Neji, by tackling her off of Gai. After all, he was still their sensei.

"So..." Lee began, "You guys came all this way just to save me?" She seemed very pleased with this fact, since Neji had always acted as if she didn't care.

Neji grumbled something that sounded like 'just keep brushing', but Tenten nodded.

"Yeah, we were really worried. Neji even came without shoes!"

Neji crossed her arms and huffed.

"I wasn't that worried, I just didn't want to have to find another teammate for the next Chuunin exams."

Lee rolled her eyes, and continued brushing.

"Whatever you say, Neji."

**Okay, well, don't forget to review, cuz you guys know how much I love reviews! ^_^**

**And the pairings are...a surprise!! No, seriously, you'll find out in the next couple chapters, because if I tell you now, it'll ruin the plot twists. I'll give you a clue for Tenten though: The guy's name starts with K! ;D**


	13. Team 8, the all boy team, or, Chapter 12

**Yeah, actually, I'm not dead, just sick, which is pretty close to the same thing, but not quite, apparently.**

**I own nothing, btw.**

Ever since the kidnapping escapade, Neji and Tenten had been wary of anything Gai thought of. Today was no exception: for some reason, Gai thought it would be wise to have their team and Hanshiro's team train together, since Hanshiro had recently graduated and he and Neji were cousins.

Neji couldn't quite see why Gai thought this was a good idea, so she didn't even try to figure out Gai's logic; clearly, her sensei was a mad man. She crossed her arms and huffed as they walked down the road towards her cousin's training grounds.

Lee, on the other hand, was thrilled by the idea. She wanted to make a difference to the young ninja, and show them that anyone could be successful. She was also eager to see who Hanshiro had gotten as teammates; she hoped it wasn't anyone too harsh, he was such a sweet little boy.

Tenten, was less than pleased, but not horribly bothered either way. Especially since Neji was bothered by it. If Neji didn't like it, obviously it was something good.

The group came to a stop at the edge of the training grounds, and Lee saw Hanshiro look at Neji with pure fear. And Neji was doing nothing to calm that fear, glaring at him as if she planned to kill him on the spot. She poked Neji nin the ribs.

"Come on, be nice." She said, mostly serious, though trying to be lighthearted about it.

Neji turned her glare on her, true fire in her eyes.

"I do not have to be nice if I don't want to! What makes you think he deserves to be treated nicely?! You don't even know him!" She snapped, corssing her arms, and causing Hanshiro to seem to wilt. He didn't really understand why Neji was so angry with him all the time, whenever he'd asked, she'd nearly bit his head off.

Suddenly, an Inuzuka boy stepped forward, scowling at Neji.

"Hey! Don't talk about Hanshiro like that!" He demanded, jerking a finger at her.

Tenten rolled her eyes.

"Seriously, Neji, don't go all bratty on us again." What kind of person could hate someone as little and cute as Hanshiro?

Neji turned an interesting shade of purple before storming off angrily, kicking a rock that was in her path along the way. Gai was at least a little concerned; it didn't normally take so little to set off his student, perhaps something else was bothering her. He followed after to investigate, and make sure Neji wasn't killing the wildlife.

Tenten crossed her arms.

"That girl is so spoiled..."

The Inuzuka next to her nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, what sort of excuse does she have? Jerk."

The two looked towards each other, immediately smiling cordially.

"I'm Tenten, by the way."

"Kiba. Ready to train?"

The two headed off to train, apparently getting along right off the bat. Hanshiro blinked at the suddeness of it all. He looked over shyly at Lee.

"I-I guess th-that just leaves u-us to trai-train..." He stuttered, scratching the back of his neck shyly. His face was tinged a rosy hue.

Lee, of course, caught none of this, and smiled obliviously.

"Yeah! Do you know gentle fist style? I want to learn how to beat Neji, so she'll respect me and be my friend!" She said, enthusiastically dragging the beet-red boy off, Hanshiro narrowly managing to utter an 'eep!' before he fainted.

Things were less comical at the scene Gai had come on, however. His student was punching holes in a tree, and normally he would simply ask what the tree had ever done to her to deserve such treatment, but the look on her face made him stop. Pure rage. He'd seen Neji irritated and annoyed, but rage was something new.

"Neji?"

She looked up at him, her anger quickly becoming more veiled to avoid a miscommunication.

"Yes?" Her teeth were clenched almost as tightly as her fists.

"What was that back there?" He asked, looking at her seriously.

Neji looked down at her feet, seeming to stop and think over her answer. Finally, she seemed to come to a conclusion, and lifted her head to look him square in the eye.

"His father and mine have...a serious disagreement. A wrong-doing." She replied, once more being enigmatic.

Gai sighed, placing a hand on his student's shoulder.

"Neji, you mustn't let this disagreement come between you and your cousin." She didn't seem to be paying him much mind, so he cleared his throat.

"The Chuunin exams will be coming up in the next few months," Her attention was immediately turned back to him. "Which means you might be taking the exam at the same time as your cousin. But," He paused for effect. Neji began to get impatient. "I will only let you participate if you promise me you won't let this conflict cloud your judgement."

"I promise!" Neji said, a little too quickly for Gai's liking. A promise was a promise, however, and he nodded. Neji actually smiled at him. A rare combination.

"I won't let you down, Gai-sensei." She said, before turning and heading back. The only opponent left for her was Shino, but somehow the silent boy suited her well. Didn't ask too many questions, though he did seem rather suspicious of her after her outburst. Their sparring went well.

---

Three hours later, the teams were leaving, new friendships having been formed. Tenten waved goodbye to Kiba.

"See ya later, try not to die on your first mission!" She called to him.

"Try not to kill Neji before we get a chance to meet again, I still want to kick her butt in a sparring match!" Came the reply.

Neji quietly waved goodbye to Shino, which earned Shino a poke in the ribs and a knowing wink from Kiba. Hanshiro and Lee had already said their goodbyes, Hanshiro, albeit, shyly, and now he tried to say goodbye to his cousin.

"B-bye, N-neji..."

Neji sighed, and after a couple seconds of what appeared to be a struggle of will power, she nodded.

"Bye, Hanshiro."

Hanshiro seemed delighted by the fact that his cousin had acknowledged him, and looked back at his teammates as if to verify he wasn't hearing anything. Maybe, she was starting to accept him...

**Still no pairings, believe it or not, so don't freak out on me, people. And don't forget to review, I do so love reviews! ^_^**


	14. Not worth my time, or, Chapter 13

**Another update! And I own nothing!**

Neji paced in her room, today was an important day for her: the first day of the Chuunin exams. Today was the written test. Not to say she wasn't smart, some regarded her as a genius, in fact, but that didn't stop her from worrying about the things she'd heard about the Chuunin exams. They were tough, with ridiculously hard questions; the proctors could easily catch you cheating; it was setup, the examiners already knew who would win...et cetera.

Neji brushed through her hair for the third time that morning; it worked well as a form of meditation, not that she'd do it out in the open. As if she needed to give Tenten one more reason to call her vain, or stuck up.

It was too early to head out, too late to go back to bed. Training then.

---

Tenten woke up as her alarm went off, sitting up and stretching. Today was the big day; Chuunin exams, at least the first part. The written part. Which would probably be a whole lot easier than the fighting part of it, so Tenten was relaxed that morning. She went through her typical routine, swiftly tying her hair in buns, and turning around in the mirror to see how her outfit looked as a whole.

She paused as she looked over her form, and sighed. Still no curves...she was thirteen already, it didn't seem right. Sometimes she worried she would never look feminine...

---

Lee had been up the past few hours, training as a warm-up for the exams, even though it was written. She wanted to get the adrenaline pumping through her body, so she wouldn't be as nervous. This was very important for her to ace, to prove that she really could make it as a ninja.

She paused as she braided her long black again, as it kept coming loose. If she failed this, she would do two hundred pushups! No, probably three hundred seemed like a better number. Gai would probably think it was a better number.

This was how she'd been training herself for the past few months, training to the point of total exhaustion. Maybe Neji would be her friend if they were equals...

---

When the three finally met at the appointed place and time, both of Tenten's teammates were shocked with how calm she was being.

"It's not like you can't take it again if you fail the first time, guys." Tenten pointed out, as she ate her breakfast roll. Neji had been too nervous to eat, and still was now.

"Yes, but if you fail the first time, people will remember it forever. It will go on your record!" Neji replied, crossing her arms. She hated when Tenten oversimplified things.

Tenten sighed. She hated when Neji overcomplicated things.

"Neji, no one is going to laugh at you just because you didn't make it through the first time. It happens to everyone. Right Lee?" She asked, looking for some support.

Lee nodded in agreement. No one would laugh, after all, at least, not at Neji. Her? Maybe. As the memories of the academy years echoed loudly in her mind, she felt relatively sure that if those kids saw her fail again, they would believe that once a failure, always failure. And she hated to give them that sort of satisfaction. She suddenly noticed Neji was staring at her.

"What...?"

Neji huffed slightly, obviously annoyed with her.

"I said, do you know when Gai will be here?"

Lee shook her head. Come to think of it, had he even said he'd be here? Were they just supposed to head in themselves? As if to answer all her questions, Gai showed up just then.

"Hello, team! Glad to see everyone made it!!" He boomed, looking rather like a proud parent about to send his children off to their first day of kindergarten. He looked as if he were about to cry manly tears, so Neji quickly interrupted.

"Glad to see you too. I guess we'll head in then, see--oof!" All three were suddenly caught in a bear hug, as Gai let his manly tears loose. "Just do well, and remember, no matter what happens, you are still a shinobi of Konoha!" He said, as Neji and Tenten tried to struggle loose.

"Gai sensei, other people are staring!" Neji protested, as she saw her cousin's team looking at them with a sort of distant horror. Even Hanshiro.

"Gai sensei, you're embarassing us!" Tenten added, as if embarassment would ever be a solid reason to stop Gai.

"I will always remember!" Lee enthused, and finally, Gai let go, looking down at all them proudly. Tenten and Neji quickly shuffled away, pulling Lee with them.

Gai looked over at Kakashi, who was looking somewhat weirded out, shaking his head.

"They grow up so fast..."

---

Once the three were inside, Neji turned to them.

"Later, there will be matches. We don't want to give away our abilities, so play dumb if you have to, all right? It shouldn't be especially hard for you two."

"Hey!" Tenten looked ready to smack Neji, but suddenly noticed that Lee was no longer paying attention. She tried to line up her vision with Lee's only to find that she was staring at Team Seven.

"Who is that?!" Lee squealed, clasping her hands in front of her like some fangirl. Neji groaned and rolled her eyes.

"Do not make eye contact." She instructed, crossing her arms and turning away disinterestedly.

Tenten patted Lee's shoulder.

"Sorry Lee, you don't have a chance with him; every girl in Konoha likes Sasuke."

Lee wilted, pouting slightly.

"Oh...well I guess I can see why, with the blonde hair and blue eyes, such a cutie..." She said, still staring at the new object of her affection. Tenten blinked and looked again.

"Oh, you mean Naruto? Good luck with that, he's as dumb as a--"

"Eeeep! He's looking this way!" Lee immediately hid behind Neji, peeking out from behind her. Neji rolled her eyes.

"For crying out loud, Lee, it's just a guy. And a stupid one, at that. Come on, that door says it's the entry way." Neji paused, staring at the guards. They seemed to be blocking every attempt to get in...but, there was something off about them, at least to her. She discreetly activated her byakugan, finding them to be covered in a genjutsu, making them seem younger than they truly were. She grabbed Lee's shoulders and steered her toward the pair.

"Go try to get in, but don't reveal your skills. It's better if we play dumb and don't stick out."

Lee walked towards the door.

"Excuse me..." She said, trying to pass, but was immediately knocked back. Tenten caught her.

"Hey! You can't just block everyone from entering! It's unfair!" Tenten complained, while Neji rolled her eyes slightly, about to explain the illusion to her, when a calm, cool voice announced.

"It's a genjutsu; we're on the wrong floor for this to be the right room." Neji turned, and there stood Uchiha Sasuke, looking smug as ever. She narrowed her eyes at him slightly.

"And who might you be?" She asked, putting her hands on her hips. Sasuke smirked.

"You didn't tell me your name."

Neji blinked in surprise; who did he think he was? She was older than him, and a Hyuuga! She turned on her heel, motioning for the other two to follow. Tenten rolled her eyes slightly, turning to follow. She noticed, from a cursory glance behind her, that Sakura didn't seem to like Neji. Couldn't blame her, Neji seemed to be one of the first girls to occupy Sasuke's attention for more than a second. And he looked slightly surprised that she just blew him off like that...

Lee stayed behind, looking at Sasuke with determination.

"My name's Lee, what's yours?" She asked boldly, crossing her arms. Sasuke didn't seem to think she was worth his time, but he answered anyway.

"Uchiha Sasuke. Aren't you going to follow your ice queen?" He asked, making fun of Neji's cold demeanor. Lee shook her head.

"I wish to challenge you to a battle!"

Sasuke waved her off, turning. "You're not worth my time." And with that, he walked off, Sakura quickly following. Naruto looked at Lee brightly.

"I'll fight ya!" He offered, obviously rearing for a fight. Lee blushed a deep red, and turned quickly to follow her teammates.

"No thanks!" She squeaked.

"Aw man..." Naruto complained, turning to find his team as well.

**I've always kind of thought of Sasuke as kind of chauvinist, so here's a streak of that in the story! Hope you liked it! ^_^**


	15. I Hate Pricks, or, Chapter 14

**Sorry I haven't updated in forever, I've been sick...anyways, I own nothing at all! Enjoy!**

Neji stared at the paper in front of her as the written exam began. These problems were harder than she'd expected, they had to be jounin level...they couldn't really expect genin to know these answers?

Unless...

Unless this was to test their cheating skills? She glanced around furtively, only to notice that a bunch of other genin were already cheating. The Chuunin watching them would probably catch them in no time. She focused, barely activating her byakugan, just enough to see the paper in front of her. Okay, that one was blank...what about the one to the left? She was thankful that her pupils were hard to distinguish, otherwise her eyes would look crazy, and obvious, to the Chuunin onlookers. Looking through the side of her skull at the paper next to her, she swiftly copied down the answers, before relaxing her byakugan for a minute. No need to get sore eyes if she has a good, solid hour to find answers...

---

Tenten felt like tearing her hair out. She knew she should have paid more attention in class! She didn't even know where to begin with most of these problems. The only option was to cheat...but how would she get past the eyes of the Chuunin watching them?

She timed carefully, waiting until she was absolutely sure none of the Chuunin were looking, and quick as a flash, she had mirrors up on the ceiling, with chakra strings attached. Now she could see the paper in front of her... she carefully began to copy down the answers, translating from the upside down text above her.

---

Lee blinked. She was pretty sure they never taught this in class...or at least it had been on a day when she was sick...

No matter, she would work hard an figure it out! She set to enthusiasticly using every inch of spare paper as scratch paper, trying to figure out the answers. She wouldn't let a little something like not knowing stop her from achieving her dreams!!

---

One hour later, each girl had their own set of answers, and waited as the proctor began his question. Each glanced quickly towards the other, except Neji, that is. She was already certain that they would get this question. Suddenly, there was a commotion near the front of the room, next to her cousin, Hanshiro. Just Naruto blabbering about something...was he trying to make everyone go deaf?

Neji, of course, tuned him out, waiting for when he'd finish and Ibiki would continue on with the question.

---

Tenten listened carefully as Ibiki began to speak again.

"...and that was the question. You all qualify for the next part of the exam..." Was basically all she heard, as her inner child turned cartwheels and screamed with happiness. They were going on to the next part!!

Her thoughts were interrupted when a black ball of cloth seemed to come flying into the room of its own accord, before spreading out to reveal a woman with spiky hair. Odd...

---

Lee stared in wonder at the woman as she explained that many of them would die. She refused to be one of the ones to die! She would persevere, and she was ready to go right this second and fight her way to the top, and--her thoughts were interrupted when Ibiki reminded Anko that it wasn't time for the second part for a few days.

Lee sighed. She would have rather gotten it over with, like bandaid. Tenten and Neji seemed to appear beside her, as they quickly hauled her to her feet.

"Come on, we have to go celebrate, this is a major step to becoming Chuunin!" Tenten said with a happy grin. Neji still remained as ice queen as ever.

"It's just the written part; there's much harder parts to come..." She said, her voice grim. Tenten groaned, shaking Neji's head slightly with her hands.

"Do you have to be a giant rain cloud wherever you go?"

Lee quickly stepped in, wrapping an arm around each of her teammates shoulders. She grinned in her rather goofy manner.

"But it sounds like a great excuse to get Gai sensei to treat us to ramen! Come on!" She said, pulling a reluctant Neji and quite willing Tenten. They found Gai was waiting for them outside the building, and that he had very obviously been pacing there the entire hour. When he saw them, he immediately ran up, anxious to know whether or not they'd made it.

"Gai sensei, we passed!!" Lee announced cheerily, and the group was immediately caught up in another hug, despite protests from Neji. Tenten seemed fine with for the moment, on an emotional high from passing the test.

"Gai! Passersby are staring!" Neji said, sounding as if she were trying to scold Gai into normal behavior. As if that would ever happen. She suddenly noticed Sasuke and his team watching. She was going to rip that stupid smirk off his face the second she got out of this hug...and then she was going to kill Gai.

Gai surprised her when he suddenly let go, turning to Team 7's sensei, Kakashi.

"Kakashi! My eternal rival! Has your team passed the written exam as well? I'm surprised you're entering them so early! I waited a year to make sure mine were ready!"

Suddenly, Neji pitied the poor man Gai had chosen as his "eternal rival". She crossed her arms, trying to regain whatever sense of superiority she'd possessed before being so publicly embarassed. Sasuke simply continued to smirk, while Kakashi lazily shrugged.

"I gave them the option and they took it. Interesting team you've got there...all girls?"

For some reason, Tenten felt personally insulted by that. Couldn't he tell that they were all girls?! She also crossed her arms, not liking Team 7 thus far. Gai, however, smiled brightly.

"That's right! They were the only ones to graduate form their class last year! And--" He was interrupted by Neji, however.

"Get that smirk off your face, Uchiha, or I will tear it off." She threatened, taking a step forward. Sasuke merely raised an eyebrow.

"I would like to see you try, Hyuuga."

"A sparring match it is!" Gai announced, seeming excited by the idea. Lee, meanwhile, was hiding behind Tenten, blushing like mad. Naruto had looked at her...

**Hyuuga vs. Uchiha, who will win? It's the match you've all been waiting for, and the chance to try to write another fight scene that I've been waiting for! Don't forget to review! ^_^**


	16. I Hate You Hanshiro, or, Chapter 15

**I recently realized that I am unable to write fight scenes...*sighs* so here is what I came up with!**

**I own nothing!!**

Neji slid easily into an offensive stance, gentle fist style. Her body language screamed disciplined and calculating.

Across the field, Sasuke, smirking like he had already won, also moved into an offensive stance, his basic taijutsu, like they'd been taught in school.

Gai was the one to count down, as their teammates watched from the sidelines, their expressions varying from amused to downright jealous.

"..Go!"

With only seconds after the last vowel had left Gai's throat, Neji and Sasuke sprang forward, beginning what looked like a deadly dance. Neji was quick, smooth, and graceful in her movements, easily countering all attacks, and responding with her own. Sasuke's were more brutal, strength filled, but he held his own against Neji's attacks, easily delivering some of his own back. Each had yet to use their kekkei genkai. Both were probably waiting for the other to use theirs first, like it was some sort of game to see who could push the other to use it first.

They had yet to land any actual blow on each other, though the dull sounds of fists hitting flesh filled the air. Tenten sighed and took a seat; this was going to go on forever. Sakura was like some sort of cheerleader, reminding Sasuke over and over that he could beat Neji, that he was better, and so on. It made Tenten want to puke.

Lee was cheering as well, for Neji, but at least it wasn't because she had some creepy crush on her. At least, Tenten sincerely hoped she didn't, because that would make any mission extremely awkward, as she didn't see Neji as the type to love a girl.

Naruto looked as if he wanted to join in the fight himself. He seemed as if he was trying to prove himself, time and time again. Tenten sincerely doubted that Neji would give him the time of day, let alone a fight.

And Gai was being his loud supportive self, as usual. Tenten chuckled slightly to herself; if Neji ever wanted a fight to stay dead serious, she'd have to make sure Gai wasn't there.

The fight didn't seem to be progressing in any manner, it was hard to tell who was winning or losing. Suddenly, a deep voice rang out that Tenten did not recognize.

"Neji, what do you think you are doing?"

Neji halted to a stop, Sasuke almost hitting in the face before stopping himself. There, standing on the edge of the field, was a middle aged Hyuuga, his arms crossed, and his disapproving eyes on Neji. Neji cleared her throat, before bowing quickly.

"It is just a sparring match, sir." She said, her voice almost apologetic. Tenten raised an eyebrow; she'd never seen Neji apologize so quickly before. The man eyed her critically, before turning towards Sasuke.

"I apologize for any inconvenience my niece has caused you." He said gravely, bowing his head slightly. Sasuke kept the same smug expression as he accepted the apology with a nod.

Neji was looking as if she were trying hard to reign in her temper, probably biting her tongue. And Lee looked purely confused. Tenten looked over to where Gai was, and he appeared to be maintaining self control as well. The man turned his head towards Neji.

"Apologize."

Neji looked up at him disbelievingly. It was bad enough he'd interrupted the fight and apologized for her, but making her apologize? To the Uchiha? Sasuke was smirking as if he had won the fight or something. She wouldn't--she couldn't apologize to him! Her face burned as she felt her Uncle's gaze boring into her, as if promising that there would be consequences if she did not.

"I...apologize." She ground out, ignoring the shocked looks on her teammates' faces. Sasuke's smirk widened, and Naruto's scowl deepened. What on earth was there to apologize for?! That jerk Sasuke didn't deserve an apology!

"Good. Let's return home, Neji." Neji obediently followed her Uncle home to the compound, ignoring the people staring after her. Her face was probably beet red, and her eyes hurt wit the promise of tears later. Once inside the compound, away from her Uncle, she pounded her pillow furiously, sobbing her anger to the heavens. There was a timid knock at her door, and she didn't bother to open it.

"Go away, Hanshiro, I hate you!!" She screamed at him, before going back to sobbing. Hanshiro sat quietly outside the door, listening to her sob. He thought she'd passed...what happened? And why did she hate him for it?

---

Sitting at the ramen shop and eating without Neji was less fun than Tenten expected. Even Gai seemed down, probably blaming himself for any trouble Neji had gotten in. Lee hadn't even touched her noodles...

Tenten sat up straight, coming up with an idea.

"Perhaps we should go check on her?"

Lee shook her head.

"No, we should go beat up that jerk Sasuke for her..."

Gai sighed; he had known that there was diplomacy going on between the Hyuuga and Uchiha. He should've known better...

**So, it was a tie, in a way...hope you liked this chapter, I will be updating again soon. And poor Hanshiro, getting all the hate for what his dad does...*shakes head***


	17. Team Gai Splits, or, Chapter 16

**I've been updating like crazy lately...and I have no idea why...I still own nothing!**

It was the morning of the second part of the Chuunin exams. Neji had been rather...tight lipped and bitter since the incident, at least, more so than usual. She refused to speak of the incident, and avoided Sasuke like the plague. Which was unfortunate for Lee, as she lost a good excuse to be around Naruto again. Currently, they all stood together, waiting to enter the forest. Neji had gotten the scroll, hiding it in her jacket. She'd decided she should be the one to take care of their scroll, since she was best at fighting and such. Plus, due to her tehcnique, people who got close to her would quickly be repelled.

Tenten fidgeted as they stood in front of their gate, waiting to be given permission to enter. They'd already discussed strategy; splitting up had been the verdict, then meeting up again. When the signal was given, they darted into the forest, finding a good, sheltered spot in the trees. Everything was deadly serious as Neji outlined the plan, and finally marked where they would meet up again.

"Don't you dare get killed, got it?" She added, as she took off. Lee nodded, smiling slightly. She really did care. Tenten simply rolled her eyes, taking off as well.

---

Neji paused three hours later. She'd spotted three potential teams to get the scroll from--and there was Ino's team. Ugh. Did they forget that she could see them?

"Come out, I know you're there." She announced, turning in their direction. She smirked slightly when she saw the disbelieving look on their faces, except that one Nara boy.

"H-hi Neji! You've got such pretty hair today-uh-Shikamaru wanted to meet you, you know!" Ino said, giving her apathetic teammate a shove forward. Neji restrained herself from rolling her eyes. If a guy was ever any less interested, it had to be Shikamaru. He wasn't even looking at her.

"Sure. I have more important things to do than listen to this, such as finding a scroll. I'd take yours, but I'm certain everyone else would simply laugh at me." Neji turned to leave, before pausing. "Ino, you have your fists raised...did you want to fight?"

Ino, who had been desiring to kill Neji and her perfect hair, quickly put her fists down. "What?! N-no! Ah, we've gotta go!" She said, awkwardly dragging her team off. Neji almost laughed when she heard Shikamaru grumble something about 'told you it wouldn't work...'. These people were so...inexperienced.

---

Tenten had yet to run into anyone, and was beginning to feel a little jumpy, wondering if the reason she hadn't run into anyone in three hours was that they were following her, hidden in the trees. She clutched at her kunai pouch anxiously. Maybe splitting up hadn't been such a great idea...

---

Lee hurried along, quickly getting bored simply scouting. She kept playing little games, such as setting goals for herself, like leaping over as many branches in one bound as possible, or catching all the leaves before they hit the ground. If she won, Naruto would love her...

She was suddenly distracted by a squirrel with an explosive note on his back. Who would do something like that to a squirrel?! She quickly saved the poor animal, narrowly missing blowing up herself.

"Hey little guy..." She paused when she heard yelling, shifting the squirrel to her shoulder. That sounded like Sakura...and where Sakura was, so was Naruto...

She took off in that direction, only to find that Naruto and Sasuke were unconscious, leaving only Sakura to protect them. Sound nin were attacking the group, and Sakura looked just about ready to drop dead. Anger swelled in her chest; she would save them!!

"Hey! Pick on someone your own size!!" She yelled, catching one of them by surprise with a flying kick. Sakura appeared surprised as well; she didn't even know this strange looking girl's name...

---

Neji continued her observations through the woods. Looked like some group had set up a trap...amateurs. She easily side stepped the trap, drawing the team out of their hiding places. They looked pretty strong, but she didn't doubt fopr one second that she could take them on...

"Aren't you cute? You're a little young to be taking this exam, missy." One of them said, crossing his arms as he approached her. Neji rolled her eyes.

"Aren't you a little old to be taking this exam?" She replied, hands on her hips. The man snarled, moving faster than she'd expected and taking hold of her jacket. She was ready to jyuuken him, when he suddenly froze, his gaze confused. He let go of her, and she landed gracefully on her feet. What on earth...?

The guy seemed to snap out of it, turning on his heels and running, his teammates following, as if they'd seen some sort of ghost. Neji activated her byakugan; that team from earlier. Shikamaru stood.

"He's got a point; what are you doing wandering around by yourself...?" He drawled lazily, walking over.

Neji huffed.

"I can take care of myself! I didn't need your help, and you're lucky that I don't beat you all up and take your scroll now. Good day!" She said, turning on her heel and leaving, her face burning slightly. Shouldn't have been caught by surprise...

Shikamaru rolled his eyes, turning to head off with his teammates.

"Women..."

---

Lee was getting beat up. This was not to say she wasn't a formidable ninja, but it was three on one, and someone had messed with her sense of balance. But she would not give up until Naruto was safe!! She winced as a fist connected with her face...

---

Tenten and Neji met back at the appointed time and place, only to find that Lee was missing. Neji sighed, already in a foul mood.

"Let's go find her; it's not like her to be late."

**Don't forget to review! And I wanted to write more with Lee getting beat up, I swear I did...*cries***


	18. That's My Punching Bag!, or, Chapter 17

**Yay! I dedicate this chapter to Someguy. You're back!! ^_^**

**I still own nothing!**

Lee fought with everything she had, she would not let Naruto down! By now, however, she was sorely tempted to stay down, sinking into the welcoming, pain numbing darkness...it was beginning to hurt too bad...

She struggled back to her feet, feeling her legs shake beneath her, threatening to give out on her. The world spun dangerously, as she felt dirt against her cheek. When had she stopped standing...?

"Hey! That's our teammate you just used as a punching bag!"

Her eyes wandered upward, glimpsing the familiar but blurry figures of her teammates. They really did care...

---

Tenten was ready to jump into battle, kill the jerks who'd beat up Lee. Neji suddenly stopped her, suddenly putting an arm in front of her. She looked over at Neji questioningly; why wouldn't Neji want to jump into a fight, she seemed eager enough to with Sasuke--her thoughts were swiftly interrupted when she saw said Uchiha surrounded by a strange, dark chakra, heading slowly towards the Sound nin.

Neji was watching as if Sasuke were some sort of rare and evil sight, as he caught the guy who'd been stupid enough to attack them. Tenten noticed Neji's feet shift, as if she were ready to run at any given moment. Weird looking chakra couldn't be that bad, right?

They watched as Sasuke broke the guy's arms, and Sakura stopped him. Tenten was down there as soon as the evil chakra disappeared, checking on Lee. She seemed to be unconscious...not matter, she could wake her up.

Neji remained up on the branch, not desiring to have Sasuke notice her. She felt her face burn slightly at the very thought. She was tempted to challenge him to a rematch, but it wouldn't be fair, the guy was exhausted. He would claim that as the reason she beat him. She wanted a fair match, later, when her Uncle couldn't interrupt.

She watched as Tenten shook Lee awake, crossing her arms and looking away disinterestedly. Lee would be fine. She always was.

---

Three hours later, they were in their little makeshift camp, Neji poking disinterestedly at the fire. Lee was still worrying, and basically all right, aside from a few bumps and bruises.

"Do you think he saw me fail like that?!" She fretted, pacing around the campfire. The stick Neji was poking the fire with snapped, along with Neji's patience.

"For the hundredth time, he was unconscious, and who cares?! He's an idiot!"

Lee let out a breath of relief, not even upset by Neji calling her crush an idiot. Tenten looked over from her position on the ground, where she'd been dozing lightly.

"Lee, you and I should probably turn in, before Neji cracks and murders us." She said, settling slightly into a comfortable position. Lee sighed, throwing herself backwards dramatically onto the ground.

"All right...you didn't see him conscious, right Tenten...?"

Neji growled slightly, standing.

"I'll take the first watch." She said, jumping up into the tree above to get a better view of the area. She'd already seen people circling the area, attracted by their small fire, as planned. After all, they looked like an easy target, and easy targets attract weaklings. Why seek them out yourself when you can wait for them? She scanned below her carefully, taking advantage of her pupiless eyes to look tired and inattentive. One team, all at least seventeen...or large for their age, she decided. They'd probably be desperate at this point to make Chuunin. Good.

Once they were close enough, Neji signaled Tenten with a quick jerk of her arm to indicate where the targets were. Tenten flew into action with a bo staff in the blink of an eye, catching one guy by surprise and knocking him out. Lee jumped into action after her, taking on another and smashing his face into the ground. Neji pondered joining in, but it looked like they were having a pretty easy time of it. Her idea had worked better than she might have hoped. Well, maybe not better, seeing as this was the third team they'd gone through and they still hadn't found the correct scroll...

Tenten suddenly held something up in the air in triumph.

"Neji! We got it!" She cheered, as Lee finished off the last one, before darting over to look at their prize. Neji hopped to the ground as well, eyes glancing over the scroll. The heaven scroll. Finally. She turned and took off.

"Let's get moving to the meeting point, then." She replied, looking back to make sure the others were coming.

"Can't we rest first??" Tenten complained, tired from the fighting. Lee patted her shoulder sympathetically before following Neji. Neji snorted.

"We'll rest when we get there, Tenten. If you're so weak you need someone to carry you, let me know." She said, smirking back at her. Tenten huffed and followed, crossing her arms as she ran. She would kill Neji later for that!

**Sorry I haven't been updating, I keep writing this chapter, and then the internet shuts down when I go to save it. It's like fate didn't want me to write this chapter, but do you know what? Fate isn't set in stone, and I overcame it!! *poses dramatically* Anyway, y'all know how much I love reviews, so please review!!**


	19. Princess SqueakyClean, or, Chapter 18

**Yes, I know, I actually decided to update...aren't I good to you?**

**Anyway, I own nothing, please enjoy! **

**Dedicated to Sentariana for reminding me about this fic!!**

It had been a journey one hour long, since Neji had insisted on going in a covert manner, zig-zagging and hiding along the way. Tenten would've complained, but everytime she opened her mouth, Neji would turn and glare at her, her activated byakugan making it all the more powerful...and rather gross looking. So, Tenten kept her mouth shut to avoid seeing the bulging veins on Neji's face.

When they did arrive, they opened the scrolls as they were supposed to, as some sort of summoning technique. And to Lee's joy, and Tenten and Neji's horror, Gai arrived, posing especially for them, before catching them up in a bone crushing hug. Luckily, there were no bystanders this time to gape at them.

"I am so proud of you!! You are all so youthful and strong to get this far! I knew I was right in holding you back until you were ready!!" He said excitedly, as Lee hugged back happily, Tenten tried to wiggle away, and Neji...remained stiff as a corpse. Perhaps if she did not acknowledge the hug, it would go away...

"Thank you Gai-sensei!! It was tough, but we accomplished it with the power of youth!!" Lee replied, just as excited.

"Gai...you're crushing us..." Tenten complained, still trying to pull free.

Gai did let go, laughing slightly.

"You all smell terrible! Go clean yourselves up while we wait for the others to arrive! There's a bathroom that way!" He said, directing the rather dirty girls towards the stairs that lead up.

"After this, you will go to the arena for further instruction!" He called, before disappearing again.

Tenten rolled her eyes.

"Well, I'm not showering. He said arena; that means we're probably going to fight again. I'd just get filthy again."

Lee nodded in agreement; it didn't really make sense to get clean if they were going to be dirty again in a short time. Neji rolled her eyes.

"Well, I am getting a shower. I'll see you later."

Tenten snickered.

"Aw, does princess not like being dirty?" She teased, which made Lee confused. "Is dirt too common for her royal fingers...?"

Neji scowled.

"You can smell like a dead pig if you want, but I prefer to be clean! I'll see you later!" She snapped, turning on her heel and disappearing into the bathroom.

Lee blinked.

"Neji's a princess...?"

---

Cool water splashed on her face, easing the sore veins on her face. She really shouldn't have kept her byakugan activated for that long...

Most people thought her to be a prick for always desiring to be clean...but it hadn't been such an obsession until now. Until after that man...it was better not to dwell. Suffice to say, she liked to be clean, but she always felt dirty. It was like the dirt was under her skin, and she'd have to peel it off to get to it.

She rubbed her temples, feeling the promise of a migraine disappear. Oh, the wonders of cold water...

---

Lee had settled down in the hallway, rebandaging her hands, and rebraiding her hair, among various other things. She needed to be ready if she'd have to fight...

Tenten had dozed off against the wall; she was very tired after all. Lee looked over at her. She looked so naive when she slept...

It was a pity she and Neji were always fighting.

Lee set to picking dirt off her shoes. Perhaps she should go get cleaned up, the water would feel good, after all. For some reason, she couldn't bring herself to actually get up. Maybe in a few more minutes...

---

Neji entered the hallway to find both her teammates deep asleep against the wall. She sighed. How very typical of them...

She knelt by Lee, poking her face, though not hard enough to hurt.

"Lee, wake up...you can't sleep in the hall."

Lee muttered something about being chased by a bunny, before actually coming into consciousness.

"Neji!" She chirped, coming wide awake, standing as if she were full of energy from the tiny nap...and knowing her, she probably was...

Neji sighed, rolling her eyes once again. Only Lee would be happy to see her in the morning...

---

Two hours later, they'd rested a little, and Neji had rebrushed Lee's hair, declaring it to be so messy that she would be ashamed to be seen with her, and that was the only reason she was fixing it. Lee simply grinned and nodded, accepting the help gleefully, despite Neji's admonishments over the condition of her hair. Tenten slept almost the entire time, missing the episode.

Gai reappeared, escorting them to an arena, to stand with the other nin who had made it through. Neji noticed with dissatisfaction that Sasuke had made it through...and Lee noticed with delight that Naruto had made it through. Neji didn't even notice her tiny cousin, cowering behind someone taller.

The proctor stood before them, speaking at length about how they were too many, and the numbers needed to be whittled down. That there would be matches now to decide who would go on to the final exam. Neji frowned slightly; she hadn't seen this coming, but she wasn't about to let anyone get in the way of her attaining the rank of Chuunin...

**And now I have to go review the matches before I write them...*sighs***

**Anyway, you all probably already know how much I love reviews: respond accordingly!**


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